Head Tax redress looking hopeful – BC Coalition for Head tax payers press conference

Gordy Mark, Bill Chu and Cynthia Lam, speaking about the discussions about head tax redress with the Conservative government – photo Gabriel Yiu


“Look for Chinese head tax redress to make its way into the
Harper
Conservative throne speech, as well as an apology before or on July
1st,” said Bill Chu, spokesperson for the BC Coalition of Head Tax
Payers, Spouses and Descendants, at a press conference on Saturday
morning.

Chu also said he heard that things did not
go as smoothly with the afternoon meeting with Oda and Kenney, for the National
Congress of Chinese Canadians.  Some members of the NCCC still wanted the
Conservative government to honour the AiP ACE program to which Bev Oda
replied, “The ACE program is not worth the paper it is written on… 
if we sign it, then that means no apology and no compensation.”

“The next time we meet, it will be as
one group,” Kenney told the NCCC, implying that it
will be combined with the CCNC and the Head Tax Coalition groups from across Canada.  Kenney also pointed out despite claims to unity that there was little unity
amongst the NCCC which claimed to represent all Chinese Canadians, as they were
divided amongst themselves on whether to follow the lead of the CCNC and
Coalition groups in asking for the apology, or staying with the ACE program
which they worked
and
long for.

Bill Chu emphasized that
an
important point made at the meeting was that “The success of the redress will not be
gauged by the dollar figure but by how racism and discrimination against Chinese-Canadians
are being treated by the government and the community at large. Reconciliation
after all is not a transaction where claims against wrongs are simply bought
off.”

“There used to be thousands, now there are only 250.  It is so sad,”said Cynthia
Lam, emphasizing how many head tax payers and spouses have died
since 1984, when head tax redress first became a major issue.  She
said that she agreed with Chiu, that there is hope, but we must still
be cautious.  “There have been so many governments that have said
no, no, no, over the years.

Below is a newstory from CKNW



Quicker headtax compensation promised
Mar, 25 2006 – 5:30 PM

VANCOUVER/CKNW(AM980)
– Compensation for headtax payers may not be more than one year away.
Bill Chiu from the BC coalition of headtax payers says this is the
promise he received from the new Conservative government. Chiu was
among a broad group of representatives who met with Canadian Heritage
Minister Bev Oda on Friday to discuss the long-standing issue of
redress. He says resolution of this issue affects all Canadians.

“If
one was picked upon and discriminated upon for a long time then it's up
to the rest of the country to embrace and welcome coming into
acknowledgment of this apology towards this darker part of our history.
And hopefully that we will become better Canadians because of that.”

Chiu says the Tory's plan for redress includes a formal apology and
compensation within the next year. A second phase of the plan also
involves some form of symbolic consideration for this part of Canadian
history.

Canadian Press:
Chinese-Cdns. hail promise for head tax apology

Ming Pao: Head Tax redress – “Harper expected to agree to an apology first”

As
during the federal election campaign, the Chinese language media has
been hot on the trail of the continuing Chinese-Canadian head tax
redress developments.  Here is the latest reported by Ming Pao.

MingPao A2  Mar 21, 2006

HARPER EXPECTED TO AGREE TO AN APOLOGY
FIRST AND DISCUSSION OF COMPENSATION LATER

Oda invites Chinese community
and head tax redress groups to Friday meeting

MingPao Ottawa – Heritage Minister Oda and PM
Harper’s trusted ally Jason Kenny sent sudden communication
via email last Friday evening inviting the two large Chinese rights groups and
leaders of many head tax redress groups to go to Toronto to meet on Friday.  At the
Friday meeting, the views of these leaders will be canvassed, it is “very
likely” to have to do with the final drafting of the Throne Speech to be
made public next month. 

Conservative Party Senior ranking information source
discloses to MingPao: “ Harper intends to reiterate his campaign promise when he gives his first throne speech to
address the head tax issue swiftly.  

“However since it is anticipated that there
won’t be an agreement reached soon over the issue of compensation to the community
or to the individual head tax payers between the two main community organizations, therefore it is very
probable Harper will, via the Friday meeting by Oda and Kenny, raise it with
the attendees of the meeting to agree to an apology first, then to look into
suggestions with regards to the form of compensation
thereafter.  With the hope that they will agree, in the upcoming parliamentary session, and with no objection
from other opposition parties, to
table and pass the official apology motion, to make good the first step to the
promise.”

With respect to what is described by some of the Heritage Ministry officials as
“pretty difficult” issue over the form of compensation,
the Conservative Government “is inclined to” set up a “joint
committee” made up of leaders
of various main compensation claim
groups in order to seek a “most appropriate satisfactory
arrangement”.  

Though Oda is the Minister responsible in name, the actual
work of the plan will be carried out by Harper’s former parliamentary
secretary for multiculturalism, Jason Kenny.  The information source went
on to say : “The HMO still
hasn’t given the final green light to this action plan, whether it will
come to fruition or not still depends on the results of the Friday meeting in
Toronto”.

Initial reactions from
the various compensation claim
groups have been quite positive since news about this went out among the Chinese
community across the country.
 All indicate their “willingness to co-operate with the Harper
government”, in order to seek an appropriate resolution and to
“give the conservative government a period of time to show its sincerity
and commitment”.

Manitoba conservative MP and one who is
quite closely connected to work on Head Tax, Inky Mark “feels deeply
surprised” that he hasn’t been invited by Oda to the Friday
meeting.

He says: “Oda and Kenny do not understand this issue,
obviously there’s another plot that Harper appoints them to embark on
this action.  I offer a piece of advice to meeting attendees not to be
overly optimistic, because there still isn’t a unified opinion inside the
Conservative party re how to resolve this issue.”

Federal
NDP call on Conservatives to apologize for Chinese Canadian head tax
redress to mark International Day for the Elmimnation of Racism

March 21, 2006

International Day for the Elimination of Racism

Re: Head tax apology and redress

 
Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

We were very encouraged by your pledge, immediately after the election,
to apologize for the injustice to Chinese Canadians under the Chinese Head Tax
and Exclusion Acts, and to provide appropriate redress. We are writing to urge
you to take action to this end, to direct redress for the surviving head tax
payers and spouses and negotiate/consult with head tax payers family on
appropriate methods of reconciliation.

We believe the apology and the appropriate redress should be delivered
to the now very elderly head tax payers and spouses on or prior to Canada Day,
July 1 of this year. It was on July 1, 1923, the Chinese Exclusion Act was
passed to prohibit Chinese immigration. There are still many Chinese Canadians
who refer to July 1 as “Humiliation Day”.

We believe also that it is critical for the government to immediately
spell out a clear timeline and process to achieve redress and reconciliation.

The former government signed an Agreement-in-Principle on November 24,
2005 with a preconditions of “no apology, no compensation,” and
which designated funds to a third party group which is not broadly recognized
by Chinese Canadians as being representative of the interests of head tax
payers and descendents. We believe such an agreement violates the fundamental
purpose of redress, which is to achieve reconciliation, restore justice and
rebuild trust.

To ensure transparency and accountability, we believe allocations of
public funds should be through the government, and not through arms-length
agencies.

Please be assured that we are ready to assist your government to right
this historic wrong.

Yours truly,

Olivia Chow,               
MP
Trinity-Spadina                                         

Libby Davies
MP Vancouver East 

Wayne Marston
MP Hamilton East-Stoney Creek

Toronto Sun:  Head Tax Apology urged – new round of talks slated to happen

A New round of talks for Head Tax redress will be starting soon. 
Chinese-Canadian groups from across Canada have been invited to attend
discussions with Heritage Minister Bev Oda.  This round will be
much more inclusive, now including the Chinese Canadian National
Council that was left out of the previous discussions because of their
insistence for an apology.

The National Congress of Chinese Canadians is insisting that the
Conservative government still honour the Liberal ACE program, even
though the Liberals promised an apology (that was not part of the
original package).  The Chinese Benevolent Association in
Vancouver has now said that the original redress package should be
scrapped.

Vancouver representatives will include the BC Coalition for Head Tax
Payers, Spouses and Descendants, as well as ACCESS (Association for
Chinese Canadian Equality and Solidarity Society, which helped lead
opposition against the Liberal ACE program which would only give
“acknowledgement, commemoration and education” but not an apology nor
individual compensation.

The Toronto Sun reported on this issue today.

March 22, 2006

Discriminated Chinese migrants are all elderly now

Shee Johnson Wong, 103, is greeted by Dr. Joseph Wong at a press conference. (Photo: Laura Gallella, Toronto Sun.)

Georgia Straight:  Head tax unites activists

Charlie Smith, news editor of the Georgia Straight, interviewed me last week for this week's story about how the head tax issue united multigenerational Canadian-born Chinese Canadians with first-generation Chinese Canadian immigrants, for a shared cause.  This was a great learning experience for me, as my circle of friends really consists of mainly English speaking Canadians of many different ethnicities – but mostly caucasian and chinese ancestries.

The BC Coalition of Head Tax Payers, Spouses, and Descendants – really was developed by Sid Tan, a longtime stalward community activist on this issue, whom I have known since about 1994.    Mary-Woo Sims is the former BC Human Rights Commisioner whose path I have been crossing for the past few years – she stepped off the committee as she became an NDP candidate for Port Moody – Westwood – Port Coquitlam during the election.  Although, also not on the committee, I have called David Wong a friend since
1986 when we met while working on the Saltwater City museum project
celebrating 100 years of Chinese history in Vancouver, chaired by
author Paul Yee.

Thekla Lit and Bill Chu, are both dedicated community activists that I have only me this year.  Both have a strong presence and burning desire to build harmony and to champion human rights issues. Gabriel Yiu is a Chinese language media commentator who has also written for Vancouver Sun and CBC Radio.  It has been a real pleasure and honour to work with these people and develop respect and friendships with them, and the other people on our committee. 

Head tax unites activists

By charlie smith

Publish Date: 26-Jan-2006

On
the eve of Chinese New Year, local Chinese Canadian human-rights
activists have another reason to celebrate: over the past year, an
alliance formed between some first-generation Chinese activists and
Canadian-born Chinese-head-tax descendants. According to several people
contacted by the Georgia Straight, this culminated in an impressive
demonstration of the community’s political influence during the recent
federal election campaign.

The Chinese Canadian National
Council has traditionally been the leading community organization
pressing for redress for Chinese head-tax payers and their descendants.
Last November, the federal Liberal government announced an “agreement
in principle” to set aside $2.5 million for education programs
concerning the discriminatory head tax. In 1904, the Canadian
government imposed a $500 tax on Chinese immigrants and nobody else. In
1923, Ottawa prohibited new Chinese settlement in Canada, only lifting
the ban in 1947.

The Minister of State for Multiculturalism,
Raymond Chan, refused to bring the CCNC into the negotiations, refused
to issue an apology, and refused to accede to the CCNC’s demand for
direct compensation. His decision flowed out of a Conservative private
member’s bill that included an apology but that also promised to set
aside all money for a rival group, the National Congress of Chinese
Canadians, which has not pressed for individual compensation.

Many long-time head-tax activists, such as Vancouver resident Sid
Tan, CCNC executive director Victor Wong, and local architect David
Wong, immediately denounced the federal Liberal initiative. Tan, a
community-media activist, told the Straight that the NCCC was created
in the early 1990s to counter the CCNC’s criticism of the Tiananmen
Square massacre.

They were joined by Canadian-born head-tax
descendant Todd Wong, veteran human-rights activist Mary-Woo Sims, and
many others who had long been associated with this issue. For the first
time, the head-tax activists also attracted the support of several
first-generation Chinese human-rights activists who regularly comment
in the local Chinese-speaking media.

….Andrew Yan, a local demographic researcher, told the Straight that
the head tax has become a “bridging” issue between first-generation
Chinese immigrants and Canadian-born Chinese, many of whose ancestors
paid the $500 fee. Todd Wong, a fifth-generation Canadian, said he was
especially pleased to see some Chinese-speaking immigrants, such as Chu
and Lit, join the redress campaign.

“That’s going to be the start of a new Chinese Canadian identity,” Wong said.

Read the entire article at Head tax unites activists

Read the companion story:
B.C. elected only one MP of Chinese descent:
Raymond Chan. How concerned are you about this?

B.C. elected only one MP of Chinese descent:

Raymond Chan. How concerned are you about this?

Straight Issues:

Charlie Smith, Georgia Straight news director, called me up last week to ask me about the Chinese-Canadian heat tax/exclusion act issues, and about working with the BC Coalition of Head Tax Payers, Spouses and Descendants.

Check out Charlie's Stories
Head Tax unites activists  

Straight Issues Archives

Sid Tan
Head-tax-payer descendant and president of the Association of Chinese Canadians for Equality and Solidarity Society

“It doesn’t really matter. I don’t do the Chinese thing. The head tax is a motherhood issue.”

Thekla Lit
President, B.C. Association for Learning and Preserving the History of World War II in Asia

“I
feel that with the population we have, we should have some Chinese MPs.
I prefer to have good Chinese MPs than any Chinese MPs….I hope that
when the Chinese community becomes more mature, that we will have good
Chinese MPs.”

David Wong
Head-tax-payer descendant, architect, and community activist

“I
actually feel it is important to find a Canadian of Chinese ancestry to
be involved at a senior political level. I’m not talking about recent
arrivals like Raymond Chan….I’m hoping that more ‘banana’ candidates
come out during the course of my lifetime.”

Todd Wong
Head-tax-payer descendant and founder of the annual Gung Haggis Fat Choy Chinese New Year’s dinner

“With
Raymond Chan, who is of Chinese descent and as a Liberal, he really
didn’t seem to understand it was the descendants who needed to be
addressed and not the Chinese-language population….The community is so
diverse and they were just looking at one segment of the population. On
the other hand, we have the NDP—Margaret Mitchell, Libby Davies, and
Peter Julian—who have been working on this issue for a long time.”

Stephen Harper reiterates his pledge of an apology and appropriate redress for Chinese Canadians


Stephen Harper just held a news conference where he announced that the
new Conservative Government would be sworn in on Monday Feb 6th.

He also took the occasion to acknowledge Chinese New Year (with Gung
Hay Fat Choy to all Canadians) and recognize the contribution of the
community and reiterated his pledge of an apology and appropriate redress.

PM Stephen Harper:

CTV
Newsnet Live: Harper speaks from Parliament 
document.write(format_clip_duration('00:07:48.46')); // see common.js
7:48
       
If you can’t open it. Try www.ctv.ca and find the feed.

The BC Coaltion of Head Tax Payers, Spouses and Descendants will be making a response soon.

24 Hours has called Gabriel Yui for a
response.  Fairchild TV and Channel M TV will also interview Thekla Lit for a
response which  she says will be the following:

1.                  
Welcome
this apology and pledge for acknowledgment and redress and good to have Conservatives
to honour their election promise.

2.                  
This is
only the first step.  The apology must be done in the Parliament to be
follow by individual and community compensation.  Because apology with proper
compensation is hypocritical and compensation without apology is unethical.

3.                  
No one
should ever give up other people’s right for a just compensation.  Then,
a consensus of compensation will be able to worked out.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

VANCOUVER/TORONTO/MONTREAL, January 26, 2006 Chinese
Canadians groups are applauding Prime Minister Designate Stephen Harper’s restatement
of his commitment to Chinese head tax redress in time for the Chinese Lunar New
Year. In his first news conference today as Prime Minister Designate, Mr.
Harper stated: “The Chinese Canadian community deserves
an apology for the Head Tax and appropriate acknowledgement and redress of
that wrong.”

“This is a wonderful beginning
– Mr. Harper shows that he can keep an election promise.”
said Susan Eng, co-chair of the Ontario Coalition
of Chinese Head Tax Payers and Families, (Ontario Coalition), which along with the
B.C. Coalition of Head Tax Payers,
Spouses and Descendents (B.C. Coalition),
Chinese Canadian Redress Alliance and the
Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC), called on the newly elected Prime
Minister and other party leaders to recommit to their election pledge to fully
support head tax redress. “Once again,
Mr. Harper is the first party leader to respond to our appeal. This bodes very
well for finally getting justice for head tax families and to closing a dark
chapter in Canadian history. We can now stop having to explain our grievances
for past injustice and look forward to working with the new government for full
and proper redress. ”

Mr. Harper was also the first party leader to issue
formal support for head tax redress during the election campaign as early as a
December 8^th news release issued to foreclose any further support by
his caucus member, Inky Mark, [Dauphin–Swan River—Marquette] for the
Liberal’s much maligned position of “no apology, no
compensation”.

In response to the demands made by Chinese Canadian
groups during the election, the Conservative Party, the NDP and
the Bloc Quebecois committed in writing to support a Parliamentary Resolution
to apologize, direct redress for the 250 surviving head tax
payers and spouses, rescinding of the $2.5 million deal under the ACE program
and open, transparent and inclusive consultations and negotiations with head
tax families and the broader Chinese Canadian community as to the nature and
extent of redress.

“Mr.
Harper’s strong and immediate commitment, especially coming as it does on
the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year, will be treated as solemn promise to
Chinese Canadians, young and old.” said Dr. Joseph Wong,
founder of CCNC.

“This is a statement of
Canadian values. We are now very optimistic that immediate action will be taken
before it is too late for the surviving head tax payers and spouses.” said Avvy Go, counsel
for the Ontario Coalition.

“It was clear that head tax redress issue galvanized Chinese
Canadians right across the country,” Bill Chu, spokesperson for the BC Coalition added.

“Even the Liberals eventually agreed to an apology during the
election campaign,” William Dere, spokesperson for the Chinese Canadian
Redress Alliance added. “Now it’s up to the Harper government

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–