Prime Minister Harper speaks to Chinese-Canadians on
Saturday, pledging Apology for Chinese Head Tax and compensation for
“direct victims”

 
 
The PM commented on the HT apology last night.  He spoke at the
10th Anniverasary for the Chinese Canadian Enterpreneur Awards Dinner,
in Markham Ontario – just north of Toronto.  Various News media
also attended the event, and their stories are posted below.

 
He also made the following remarks to Fairchild Radio earlier in the
year:

 
April 8, 2006

Harper mulls head-tax apology
By GILLIAN LIVINGSTON

Prime Minister Stephen Harper during the 2006 Chinese Canadian
Entrepreneur Awards. (CP PHOTO/Nathan Denette)

MARKHAM, Ont. (CP) – The Conservative government will consult with the
Chinese Canadian community about how it will apologize for the “grave
injustice” of the Chinese head tax and exclusionary act, Prime Minister
Stephen Harper said Saturday.

Harper made the comments to an audience of Chinese business people,
just days after his government promised in its maiden throne speech to
formally apologize for the discriminatory head tax put in place in late
19th and early 20th centuries.

The Conservatives have “long recognized the grave injustice of these
past discriminatory measures,” and will now act on that belief, Harper
told a black-tie awards ceremony north of Toronto.

“As promised from the recent speech from the throne, our government
will move in Parliament to offer a formal apology for the Chinese head
tax,” said Harper, receiving a minute-long standing ovation from more
than 800 people in the crowd.

“We will be consulting with the Chinese Canadian community to establish
a consensus for further recognition and reconciliation of this sad
period of our history,” he said.

But Harper gave no further details about when the government might make
the apology or what other redress might be offered.  Nor has the
government stated whether it will offer monetary compensation to the
few hundred remaining survivors who paid the $50 to $500 tax to enter
this country.

The tax, forced to be paid by Chinese immigrants has long been a wrong
Chinese Canadians felt had to be righted.  Between 1885 and 1923,
nearly 81,000 Chinese immigrants paid $23 million to enter Canada
through the tax imposed by the government in response to rising
immigration during the B.C. gold rush.

Following the imposition of the head tax, Canada implemented the
Chinese Exclusion Act, which barred Chinese immigrants altogether until
it was repealed in 1947.

The promise for broad consultation seems a veiled reference to a
controversial deal the former Liberal government reached in the last
days before the election call in late November.  The Liberals had
swiftly signed a $2.5 million deal with the National Congress of
Chinese Canadians that offered no apology and no
compensation.  But it was denounced by some Chinese Canadians who felt they hadn't had a say in the agreement.

“Chinese Canadians have made . . . an invaluable contribution to Canada
and your community deserves nothing less than a full apology for this
past wrong,” Harper said.

“Our government will always be mindful of the integral role played by
Chinese Canadians in Canadian society and in turn will always afford
this community the respect to which it is entitled.”

Earlier in his speech, Harper applauded Chinese Canadians who helped
fuel the gold rush in British Columbia, worked tirelessly on the iron
rails that linked Canada through a national railway, and, today, own
businesses that keep the country's economy growing.

Catherine Swift, head of the Canadian Federation of Independent
Business, called Harper's pledge to apologize for the discriminatory
head tax “long overdue.”

“The fact that we had a recognition of the need to apologize for the
head tax for Chinese Canadians, I thought that was an enormous,
enormous accomplishment,” Swift said, her statement interrupted by
strong applausefrom the audience.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2006/04/08/pf-1526246.html

PM repeats pledge to formally apologize for head tax

Last Updated Sun, 09 Apr 2006 09:25:16 EDT
CBC News <http://www.cbc.ca/news/credit.html>

Prime Minister Stephen Harper received a standing ovation at a
Chinese-Canadian awards dinner Saturday night after renewing his
promise to apologize for the head tax once imposed on Chinese
immigrants.

Harper said his government will consult with the Chinese-Canadian
community about how it will apologize for what he called the “grave
injustice” of the discriminatory tax.

Stephen Harper talks to the audience during the 2006 Chinese Canadian
Entrepreneur Awards on Saturday. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press) 
He made the comments to a Chinese-Canadian business group in Markham,
Just north of Toronto.

    FROM THE ARCHIVES: A
http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-69-1433/life_society/chinese_immigration/

Tale of Perseverance: Chinese Immigration to Canada

“Chinese-Canadians have made … an invaluable contribution to Canada
and your community deserves nothing less than a full apology for this
past wrong,” Harper said.

“Our government will always be mindful of the integral role played by
Chinese-Canadians in Canadian society and in turn will always afford
this community the respect to which it is entitled.”

The Conservatives' throne speech on April 4 included a promise to
Formally apologize for the head tax imposed on nearly 81,000 Chinese
immigrants between 1885 and 1923.  The tax, costing each immigrant
between $50 and $500 to enter the country, was followed by the Chinese
Exclusion Act, which barred Chinese immigration until its repeal in
1947.

In November 2005, the federal government – then led by Paul Martin and
his Liberals – signed a $2.5-million deal with one prominent Chinese
group to set up educational projects to commemorate those who paid the
tax.
But the agreement angered other Chinese-Canadian groups, who complained they had not been consulted. 

Only about 800 people who paid the head tax are alive, but there are many descendants across the country.

Copyright <http://www.cbc.ca/aboutcbc/discover/copyright.html>  (c)2006
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation – All Rights Reserved
 
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/04/09/harper-headtax060409.html
?print
 

April 9, 2006



Chinese hail PM


Harper repeats pledge to formally apologize for head tax, hints at more

By BRETT CLARKSON, TORONTO SUN

MARKHAM — Prime Minister Stephen Harper received a standing ovation
last night at a Chinese-Canadian gala dinner after repeating the
government's promise to apologize to the community for the
discriminatory head tax.

Harper lauded the contributions made by Chinese-Canadians at the 10th
annual Chinese-Canadian Entrepreneur Awards, organized by the
Association of Chinese-Canadian Entrepreneurs.

“In each and every country that Chinese people have settled, there have
been great benefits as a result of the hard work and entrepreneurial
spirit they've brought,” Harper said.

Harper called the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, built
largely by Chinese labourers who did sometimes deadly work, “probably
the most important nation-building enterprise in Canadian history.”
Harper again promised to formally apologize in Parliament for the Head
Tax and Exclusion Act, prompting the audience in the ballroom of the
Hilton Suites to stand and applaud for almost a minute.

“We will be consulting with the Chinese-Canadian community to establish
a consensus for further recognition and reconciliation of this sad
period in our history,” Harper said, suggesting more than an apology is
in the works.

A $50 head tax was imposed on Chinese immigrants in 1885 to discourage
them from coming to Canada. The tax was increased to $100 in 1900 and
to $500 in 1903.
 
A total of eight awards were handed out, including a lifetime
Achievement award for Tong Louie.

http://torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndGTA/2006/04/09/pf-1526855.html

NDP leads head tax issue in Parliament with motions
addressing head tax and exclusion act redress

With the Conservative government promising to make an apology in Parliament 
for the Chinese head tax.  It was the NDP opposition that got off to a 
quick start with motions that will lead to both an apology and redress for
the head tax and exclusion act.  Fair Justice for all...

MP's Libby Davies and Peter Julian both attended the 2006 Gung Haggis Fat 
Choy dinner on January 22, with the NDP federal candidate colleagues on
Election Eve.  It was great to have them there, as they have helped to lead
the fight for Head Tax redress from the beginning in the 1980's with 
Margaret Mitchell.  I hope to one day have a Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner in
Halifax so that Alexa McDonough can attend.


The following motions were tabled in the House of Commons Friday by NDP MP's 
Alexa McDonough, Libby Davies and Peter Julian

http://www.parl.gc.ca/39/1/parlbus/chambus/house/orderpaper/004_2006-04-06/o
rdpmo004-E.html 

M-11 - April 4, 2006 - 
Ms. McDonough (Halifax) - 
That, in the opinion of the House, the government should: 
a) formally apologize to the Chinese community for the injustice imposed 
on Chinese immigrants by the government's Chinese Immigration Act of 1885 
and the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1923; 
(b) negotiate with members of the Chinese community, financial
compensation to surviving individuals who paid the tax, and to their
descendents; and 
(c) financially support educational and cultural
initiatives developed in concert with the Canadian-Chinese community to
prevent such injustices from happening again.
 

M-66 - April 4, 2006 - 
Ms. Davies (Vancouver East) 
- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should negotiate with 
the individuals affected by the Chinese Head Tax and the Chinese Immigration 
(Expulsion) Act, as well as with their families and their representatives, 
a just and honourable resolution which includes the following framework: 
a) a parliamentary acknowledgment of the injustice of these measures; 
b) an official apology by the government to the individuals and their 
families for the suffering and hardship caused; 
c) individual financial compensation; and 
d) a community-driven anti-racism advocacy and educational trust fund for
initiatives to ensure that these and other historic injustices are not
repeated.
  
M-33 - April 4, 2006 - 
Mr. Julian (Burnaby-New Westminster) 
- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should move quickly 
to accelerate the processing of immigration applications and abolish the 
head tax, or right of landing fees, on all immigrants.
 
M-34 - April 4, 2006 - 
Mr. Julian (Burnaby-New Westminster) 
- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should officially 
recognize the contribution of the early Chinese labourers toward building 
the Canadian Pacific Railway in British Columbia by supporting the development of a
Chinese Railway Labourers' heritage exhibition, as well as a provincially
based Chinese Railway Labourer's museum in the city of Kamloops, that 
would show the historic contribution and sacrifices of the Chinese people in
building the Canadian Pacific Railway in British Columbia.
 
M-73 - April 4, 2006 - 
Ms. Davies (Vancouver East) 
- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should implement 
progressive immigration reform to provide domestic workers with full 
immigration status on arrival, abolish the head tax on all immigrants, 
and include persecution on the basis of gender and sexual orientation 
as grounds for claiming refugee status.
 
 
 

Sid Tan and Gim Wong make news
for Head Tax apology reaction

My friends Sid Tan and Gim Wong keep turning up in newspapers today.
There's the front page of Metro News, and a picture in the Vancouver Sun (see below)

Last night I saw them on Global News, holding court in the Guys and Dolls
Billiards where Sid decided to hold a press conference as he and Gim
watched the Throne Speech on television.

I went down after work, and had a bite to eat with Sid, as he told me what
happened. He was very pleased that about 7 televison cameras had
shown up. Gim was not dressed in his Air Force uniform. He is the WW2
veteran that rode his motorcycle across Canada to Ottawa this past summer,
to protest the government's refusal to redress Chinese head tax.

Gim Wong in Ottawa – his motorcycle with the sign “Ride for Redress”,
speaking with NDP leader Jack Layton outside the Museum of Civilization.

Sid describes the event:

Below is the Vancouver Sun Article

Chinese-Canadians hail move on head tax

Activist says the Tories are offering an apology and
redress in order to win political support in key urban areas

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

The
reference to an apology for the Chinese head tax was brief, but its inclusion
in the Conservative government's throne speech Tuesday was hailed as a major
victory by Chinese-Canadian activists who have pushed the issue for many
years.

“We
wish it was a louder and stronger signal, but it was a signal
nonetheless,” said Sid Tan, the grandson of a head-tax payer and a
director of the Chinese Canadian National Council.

Tan
said he's “cautiously optimistic” that an apology will be followed
by compensation in the coming budget for the approximately 200 surviving
head-tax payers and their survivors.

He
hopes the money will be announced on July 1 — the anniversary of the repeal
of the head tax.

Tan,
who helped spearhead the drive for an apology, watched the throne speech at a
pool hall on Main Street.
There he heard Gov.-Gen. Michaelle Jean read:
“The government will act in Parliament to offer an apology for the
Chinese Head Tax.”

Tan
told reporters he wasn't upset about waiting until the end of the speech to
hear one sentence about the head tax.

“I've
waited 20 years for the government to announce something. I think it's a
positive step. It's more than has ever happened before.”

The
head tax, which soared to $500, roughly two years' salary, was in place from
1885 to 1923. About 81,000 Chinese immigrants paid $23 million to enter Canada under
the head-tax program.

Many
of the Chinese-Canadians who paid the tax built Canada's first trans-continental
railway.

Ottawa's aim was to
keep Chinese immigrants out of Canada.

The
head tax was enforced until July 1, 1923, when it was replaced by the Chinese
Immigration Act, which excluded Chinese immigrants
altogether until it was repealed in 1947.

Tan
watched the throne speech with Gim Foon Wong, who grew up in Vancouver's
Chinatown and whose parents paid the head
tax.

Wong
called the throne speech mention of a head-tax apology a “huge
breakthrough.” He added: “Instead of talking about it, let's settle
it, for God's sake.”

Last
summer Wong, 83, rode his motorcycle to Ottawa
to seek redress for the head tax.

Tan
said the Conservatives are offering an apology and redress in order to win
political support among Chinese-Canadians in key urban seats.

“Why
else would they be doing it? They saw the wind blowing during the
election,” he said.

“But
I would like to think that they are doing it because it's an issue of
justice.”

The
Tories had earlier supported the Liberal position that an apology could open
the door to costly legal claims by Chinese-Canadians and other groups who
believe they've been subjected to discrimination.

But
at least three of Harper's B.C. candidates, Darrel Reid, John Cummins, and Kanman Wong, broke from that position and called for a
new deal that includes at least an apology and possibly compensation. Then
Conservative leader Stephen Harper reversed his position early in the
election campaign, calling for an apology.

Reuters Press and Canadian Press cover head tax apology story


Both Reuters Press and Canadian Press have been able to write stories
about the Chinese Canadian community response to the mention of apology
for head tax in the throne speech by the Conservative government.

And both stories have interviewed my friend Sid Tan, who was
responsible for organizing the Novembers 26th protest against the
Liberal government Agreement-in-Principle, which stated “No Apology”
and “No Compensation.”  I know that Sid is probably in a partial
state of disbelief, or as he says “cautious optimism.”  He is
prepared for a long haul, in order to get the best reasonsable and fair
settlement.  After all, it has been 22 years, since Head Tax
redress became an issue for the community.

I will now have to call my 95 year old grandmother on the phone and
tell her the good news.  Both her father and husband paid the head
tax.

Throne speech signals apology for head tax
imposed on Chinese-Canadians

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

(CP)
– There was only one sentence near the end of a 2,500-word throne speech
Tuesday, but for the few hundred survivors forced to pay an ugly, racist head
tax in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was undoubtedly the
speech's highlight.

“The
government will act in Parliament to offer an apology for the Chinese Head
Tax,” the governor general read. There was the word apology but nothing
about redress or compensation. Vancouver
resident Sid Tan was still pleased.

“It
may have been weak and it may not have been as lengthy as we wanted it to be,
but it was a definite signal,” said Tan, president of the Association of
Chinese Canadians for Equality and Solidarity.

He
expressed “cautious optimism” that the impending Conservative
budget would offer some compensation.

“I
think those details will be better seen in the budget,” said Tan, who is
also a national director of the Chinese Canadian National Council.

Canada to apologize for head tax on
Chinese

 Reuters

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada will
apologize for a discriminatory tax imposed decades ago on Chinese immigrants,
but details on issues such as compensation are still being worked out, the
government said on Tuesday.

The
promise came in the new Conservative government's first Speech from the Throne
policy address. During the campaign leading up to the January 23 election,
Chinese-Canadians had accused the former Liberal government of ignoring the
issue.

The
speech did not say when the apology would be made, and Heritage Minister
Beverly Oda later said officials were meeting with
groups to work out details and whether there would be financial compensation.

“We're
looking at what's most appropriate,” Oda told
CBC Newsworld television.

The tax
was imposed from the 1880s to the 1920s on Chinese immigrants and made it
financially difficult for them to move to Canada or be joined by their
families.

The fee
was originally set at C$50 a person, but raised in the early 1900s to C$500.
The C$500 was equivalent to about two years' wages for a Chinese Canadian
worker at the time, according to a lawsuit filed in 2000 seeking compensation.

There was
almost a complete ban on Chinese moving to Canada from 1923 to 1947.

Sid Chow
Tan, a Vancouver-area resident who has campaigned for two decades for an
apology and compensation for the taxpayers and their descendants, called the
new government's actions “a good first step.”

“We're
further now than we have ever been before,” Tan said. “I'm cautiously
optimistic that we will get a full settlement within a year.”

Tan said
that there are only a few hundred people still alive who paid the tax or were
married to someone who paid it.

see the story: click here

Throne Speech: “The Government will act in Parliament to offer an apology for the Chinese Head Tax”


It's there.  An apology for the Chinese Head Tax, placed only
against ethnic Chinese, from anywhere in the world.  An apology
for the head tax that began in 1887 and sparked 62 years of legislated
racism, placed only against ethnic Chinese.  No word on a tax
refund though, or a symbolic compensation.

But it's there…  Buried in the conclusion between the Bank Act
and significant treaties…  Not in the section titled “A Canada That Works for All of Us”   or “Canada
– Strong, United, Independent and Free”


See 

Speech
from the Throne

Conclusion

The
Government's clear and focused agenda reflects its commitment to Canadians. It
will not try to do all things at once. Instead, the Government will work
diligently to make tangible improvements that contribute to stronger families
and safer communities, and a stronger country.

During
this Thirty-Ninth Parliament, the Government will be bringing forward fiscally
responsible budgets and a legislative program that will achieve the results
that Canadians expect from their elected representatives. In this work, it will
rely on the support and counsel of a dedicated and professional Public Service.
In turn, it will give the Public Service the leadership and tools it needs to
excel in the service of Canadians. Recognizing the important role of
parliamentarians, members of Parliament will be asked to conduct comprehensive reviews of key federal
legislation, including the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, the
Anti-Terrorism Act and the Bank Act. The Government will act in Parliament to
offer an apology for the Chinese Head Tax. Significant international treaties
will be submitted for votes in Parliament.

Chinese Canadians invited to attend Throne Speech: Will Redress for Head Tax finally happen with Conservative Government?

Chinese Canadian Canadian Head Tax activists are anxiously awaiting the new Throne Speech by the Stephen Harper Conservative government.  It is widely speculated that redress for the Chinese-Canadian Head Tax and Exclusion Act will be included in the Conservative agenda for 2006.

It is such a certainty, that Dr. Joseph Wong, CCNC Founding President, Mr. James Pon, a head tax payer and Mr. George Lau, Co-Chair of the Ontario Coalition will be attending the Throne Speech in Ottawa on April 4, 2006.

MEDIA ADVISORY

CHINESE CANADIAN COMMUNITY GATHERS TO HEAR THRONE SPEECH

TORONTO/VANCOUVER/OTTAWA (April 3, 2006) – In response to the demands made during the federal election by the Ontario Coalition of Chinese Head Tax Payers and Families (Ontario Coalition), along with the B.C. Coalition of Head Tax Payers, Spouses and Descendants, Chinese Canadian Redress Alliance and the Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC), Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised Canadians that a Conservative Government would apologize and provide appropriate redress for the 62 years of racism brought on by the Chinese Head Tax and Chinese Exclusion Act.

Since the election, Chinese Canadian communities across the country have been anticipating a parliamentary apology for these historic injustices. On Tuesday April 4, 2006, Chinese Canadians will gather in Toronto and Vancouver to watch the throne Speech and provide comments and reaction to the media.

Date:                          Tuesday April 4, 2006

Where/When:             Bright Pearl Seafood Restaurant
                                  346 – 348 Spadina Avenue, Toronto at 3:00pm EST

                                 Guys and Dolls Billiards
                                 2434 Main Street, Vancouver at 12:00noon PST

Susan Eng, Co-Chair of the Ontario Coalition for Head Tax Payers and their Families, explains, “The Ontario Coalition and other head tax redress advocates have submitted a Framework for Reconciliation asking that a commitment to redress be made a priority in the Throne Speech, including sponsoring a Parliamentary Resolution to apologize for the harm suffered under the Chinese Head Tax and Chinese Exclusion Act, to provide direct financial redress to the Head Tax payers and surviving spouses, optimally by July 1st, highly symbolic as the date on which the Exclusion Act came into force and to commit to broad consultations and negotiations to effect redress and reconciliation with the descendants of Head Tax payers and those directly affected by the Chinese Exclusion Act.”

Colleen Hua, National President of CCNC says, “The throne speech is significant to the redress movement because it outlines the government’s strategic priorities for the year, especially since the Prime Minister has repeatedly promised an official apology and appropriate redress.”

George Lau, Co-Chair of the Ontario Coalition, agrees and adds, “I believe that the head tax redress movement has spurred many Chinese seniors to become involved in the political system for the first time.  As such we are becoming more civically engaged in the affairs of the nation.  For example, I believe, Chinese seniors will be tuned into the throne speech seeking out announcements that will be directly affecting them whether it is about head tax redress or strengthening the Senior Income Security Act.  Any way you look at it, the redress movement has changed the Chinese Canadian community forever.”

Canada's “National Dream” was realized when the Last Spike was driven to complete the transcontinental railway in 1885. Instead of gratitude for the Chinese railway workers – thousands of whom gave their lives to the building of this country – the government imposed a head tax on all new Chinese immigrants, collecting more than $23 million by 1923. That year, the government passed the Chinese Exclusion Act to stop all Chinese immigration to Canada. The racist legislation was not repealed until 1947.

– 30-

Notice to Media: Dr. Joseph Wong, CCNC Founding President, Mr. James Pon, a head tax payer and Mr. George Lau, Co-Chair of the Ontario Coalition will be attending the Throne Speech in Ottawa on April 4, 2006. This delegation will be available to meet with the Ottawa media in the foyer of Parliament immediately after the Throne Speech. Please contact Dr. Joseph Wong, CCNC Founding President, (416) 806-0082.

For more information, please contact:

Ontario Coalition of Head Tax Payers and Families
Susan Eng, Co-chair, (416) 960-0312 (Toronto)

Chinese Canadian National Council
Colleen Hua, National President, (647) 299-1775 (Toronto)
Victor Wong, Executive Director, (416) 977-9871 (Toronto)
Sid Tan, National Director, (604) 783-1853 (Vancouver)
Avvy Go, Director, Metro Toronto Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic; and
Counsel, Ontario Coalition of Chinese Head Tax Payers and Families (416) 971-9674 (Toronto)

BC Coalition of Head Tax Payers, Spouses and Descendants
Bill Chu, spokesperson (604) 261-6526 (Vancouver)

Chinese Canadian Redress Alliance
William Dere (514) 488-0804 (Montreal)
Walter Tom (514) 341-3929 (Montreal)