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Some still "ticked off " ... but ...
This past week (June 2006), like the many weeks preceding it, I've been receiving the usual diatribes from my old colleagues still demanding a fair Head tax redress from our Canadian government. My thoughts are:
We've received the Official Apology. Let's get on with our lives. It's not about the money... the talk of Money only diminishes the past injustice.
There are days I get annoyed with those who are making a meal out of it, and there are days I reflect upon it. But there is one thing that should be observed:
Respect and Listening. It's always better to maintain relationships and bridges, despite the fact you may disagree with each others' viewpoint. Try see it from the other person's point of view. Life is never black and white.
It's about building and leading. Stubborness and an adversarial approach, unfortunately seems to be the order with today's politicians and community activists.
Intelligence challenged Chinese-Canadian Opportunists
What is of interest is the amazing abilities of self appointed leaders in the Chinese Canadian community, and in particular, those who are recent immigrant Chinese who are shamelessly trying to cozy up to our new Prime Minister. Do these narcissists have no dignity nor pride?
Shame.
Chinese Newspaper editor, Susanna Ng, has created the blogsite: Chinese in Vancouver where there is an interesting discussion on pandering politicians and opportunists, cashing in on this whole Apology. And there's more on the UGLY Chinese Canadian blogsite.
Ottawa: What a difference a Year makes ... June 22, 2006 !
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... recognize the Head dress?
Yes... it's Auntie Fay Leung !!! Slayer of a BC Premier.
On Thursday, June 22, 2006 Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivered a message of redress in the House of Commons for a head tax once applied to Chinese immigrants, calling it a "grave injustice". There is a lot of news articles on this historic day... for a video clip of our PM's presentation and apology, and more background info on the Head tax, check out this CTV link.
"The Canada we know today would not be what it is without the work of Chinese workers," said Harper.
The event was simultaneously broadcasted across our great nation, and special events and gatherings were held for this important historic moment. A multi-generational spectrum of family members sat at the front watching on the big screen: PM Stephen Harper, Liberal House leader Bill Graham, NDP leader Jack Layton and BQ leader Gilles Duceppe, all present statements of apology for Canada's Head tax.
There were over 1,000 people at Vancouver's gathering, who sat and listened to the government presentations in our official languages along with Cantonese and Toishanese. As the event occurred during working hours, the majority of the viewing audience were the elderly and people in business attire. My family and I who are naturally loud, opinionated and obnoxious, led some serious cheering, something akin to a Football game.
We are happy and content with the sincerety of the Prime Minister's Apology and redress, and am proud of the handful of activists who led the effort for this historic day.
So heeds the question - "was it a good apology and a fair redress?"
Quick answer -
Good apology, but not a fair Redress. There are now some out there who are now organizing to demand a better redress and recognition of the Head tax descendants.
It's a difficult political balancing job... made more difficult by many on "the redress cause" due to the simple fact of politcal inexperience, limelight grandstanding (by the usual few) and lack of "mainstream" Canadian and immigrant (Chinese) Canadian support.
I went on record publicly stating that we all must move on with our lives, and that I and my family are content with the Canadian government's apology. I believe this thought reflects the pulse of the greater Chinese-Canadian community.
With our Nation's official recognition of a past injustice, O one should know when to pause. If misinformation takes root, it may turn against a cause (which is where current public sentiment is - "descendants are appearing to look greedy").
One thing I've learned a long time ago, is that you can't change a red neck's mind, nor can you present a complete picture to everyone in a society that is full of distractions.
A Collection of thoughts and clippings leading up to Canada's official recognition and Apology to the Historic Headtax:
 . . . . .. 
Head tax paying Great Grandpas (arrived with their brothers in Canada during the late 1800's)
There are over a dozen headtax payers in my family. My 95 year old maternal grandfather who could not afford and was later excluded from entering Canada, has asked me to keep searching for the graves of his head tax paid father (my great grandfather) and his brothers (somewhere in the prairies).
This is more important to me and my family... the pain of the exclusion act.
Not the re-imbursement of the head tax collected.
. . . . . .
.  .  . 
Media feeding frenzy post Prime Minister's address .. . Grandma Wong & Grandpa Wong (Headtax payer) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wong family at PM's address
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The community consultations ...
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Canada's new Prime Minister, Mr. Stephen Harper, is in the process of making good on an election promise. Throughout the months of April and May, senior government officials met up with Canadians of Chinese descent to understand and learn of the painful stories shared by those affected by the Head tax.
Mr. Harper is consulting with some surviving Head tax payers and their descendants. Finally, some real acknowledgement and recognition of a nation's historic past... though it's a chapter that many would like to keep behind misty cobwebs.
Although some of the supporters of the past government are sore and are attempting to salvage face, the facts clearly demonstrate that their old so - called "Agreement in Principle (AIP)", cobbled during the final days of the last government together with the National Congress of Chinese Cdns (the 'NCCC') whose website by the way, is still in a foreign language (!), was ... and remains, cerebrally challenged.
During one of the well attended community meetings, the Hon. Jason Kenney (Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister for Multiculturalism) commented in response to a NCCC spokesperson claiming "representation of the community":
"You say the NCCC views are 'unanimous'.
But could you (NCCC) clarify this? Because, yesterday evening in Vancouver, how can I, subtly put this ... it was boo'ed off the friggin stage! "
And this comment was received with thundering applause and ovation by hundreds of Albertans (news shared by Edmonton Head tax action group)
Together with Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women, Hon. Beverley J. Oda, these meetings are being held across Canada ... in Halifax, Vancouver, Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Montréal, to capacity crowds (Vancouver's had over 500 people).
For those who missed the westcoast antics, here's what happened:
I watched with awe how octagenarians and centurians cursed and shouted out with anger at the few remnant Chinese sycophants who had been in negotiations with the former government. Shouts of Traitors! Sell-out! C*cks*ckers! Assh*le! and a lot of very, very VERY colourful Sze-Yup and Cantonese words were cursed at the few toadies (and you know how rude we cantonese can be) ... it was much more interesting then any sporting event that I've ever been to. Heck, even the 80+ year old great granny in front of me was tearing off an incredibly wicked line.
It's amazing that the NCCC types didn't all just burst into flames!
Respected Veteran Gim Wong, gives an impassionate speech of recognizing a deceased comrade who had fought for a country that charged him a Head tax, while never giving him full rights as a Canadian citizen..." a man who paid the Head Tax, was not allowed to vote ... yet fought for Canada."
Our Government is finally doing what should had been done long ago...and that is speaking to surviving Head tax payers, their spouses and their descendants... multi-generational Canadians. Speaking to the victims, people who *actually* experienced and have knowledge of the Head tax, not some person who just recently landed in Canada...and just happens to share a common ethnicity.
Head tax tales tinged with anger
Chinese-Canadians relate families' experiences to multiculturalism and heritage ministers
Paul Marck The Edmonton Journal
Sunday, April 23, 2006
EDMONTON - They came to tell their stories, expressing fear, anguish and anger.
There were tears and knowing nods, as 130 Albertans of Chinese ancestry came to listen and talk about the hated head tax imposed on parents, uncles and aunts by a discriminating Canadian government early in the last century. "We built the railroad, the backbone of this country. And there's never been any recognition of that," said Jim Yee, following a meeting with MP Jason Kenney at the Royal Alberta Museum Saturday afternoon.
The meeting is one of several being held across the country by Kenney, parliamentary secretary for multiculturalism, and Heritage Minister Beverley Oda. They are hearing from Chinese-Canadians on their views about redress for the head tax on Chinese immigrants between 1885 and 1923.
Several members of the Yee family, including their elderly mother, Lorna Yuen Yee, who is 83 and in a wheelchair, came to the meeting. Lorna's late husband, George Jow Mun Yee, who died in 1978, was among those who paid the head tax to enter Canada.
The tax was imposed only on Chinese, not any other immigrants.
John Yee said his mother is pleased to hear that the federal government will formally apologize for the head tax, and offer some form of compensation. A few years ago, the Yees, including Lorna, made a trek back to Canton, to see their father's birthplace. He was separated from his family, never returning there, after emigrating to Canada as a 13-year-old boy.
"An uncle told us that my father's mother looked out for him to return every day, and he never got back. She looked for him every day, for 35 years, and never saw him again," Jim Yee said. George Yee worked as a market gardener and spoke little to his family about the discrimination he suffered, or the head tax he had to pay. Many Chinese worked to repay borrowed money with which they paid the tax.
The tax started at $50, but rose to $500 by 1903.
Many could not afford to bring other family members to Canada as a result. "All of us had some discrimination growing up, but nothing like my father suffered," John Yee said. The Yees said they would like to see more education about the head tax and have a chapter added to history books and taught in school. "It's like something is missing. Nobody wants to admit it happened. There must be so much shame," Jim Yee said.
Ninety-four-year old James Marr paid the head tax, and while he was too infirm to attend the meeting, his daughter, Mae, was there on his behalf. "He never talked about it," she said. All the same, he will be pleased that the government is saying it is sorry, she said.
Kenney said the government will move quickly on the apology and a compensation formula. Something will be in place by July 1, which many Chinese consider the anniversary of infamy when the tax was originally imposed. "We heard some very heart-breaking stories about families that were divided, people that suffered economically," Kenney said. "You had families split up sometimes for decades, children that didn't ever know their fathers, wives and husbands that were separated for 20 years or more. Thousands and thousands of Chinese-Canadians experienced this. "It's amazing that they had enough patience to stick with this country and get past this era of institutional discrimination," Kenney said.
Chinese-Canadians have sought redress for years.
Kenda Gee, spokesman for the local Chinese Head Tax and Redress Committee, said those at the meeting voted about 95 per cent in favour of a settlement with the government. While the government has yet to indicate what form compensation will take, many Chinese-Canadians believe the estates of those who paid the head tax should be awarded $20,000. It is estimated that more than 15,000 Chinese came to Canada at the time to build the Canadian Pacific Railway, and about 4,000 died during the construction through the Rockies.
It is believed that fewer than 300 people who paid the head tax are still alive.
pmarck@thejournal.canwest.com
© The Edmonton Journal 2006
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/cityplus/story.html?id=f6e4892f-4d0e-44f4-934c-ab9f4b13cda5&k=6858 <http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/cityplus/story.html?id=f6e4892f-4d0e-44f4-934c-ab9f4b13cda5&k=6858>
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=a81722a5-37df-4dff-bc7c-5d81e75edd4c&k=28781 <http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=a81722a5-37df-4dff-bc7c-5d81e75edd4c&k=28781>
And long time Head tax redress advocate Sid Tan writes:
" Yep, you could say a whupping was laid on the Congress tonight. There were nearly 500 people there and Gabriel is perhaps slightly more generous about per centage support but not by much - I'd say 80-85% but can live with 90%. It was quite a night. A little vindication of the organic grassroots self-governed action by a merry band that's jelling in the Saltwater City. And yelling too!
Our seniors were perhaps a touch strident and vocal but what the heck, they have found their power. There was sustained booing and heckling several times when speakers supported the Congress/Liberal AIP (Agreement in Principle). The moderator and Jason Kenney had to ask the crowd to calm down more than a few times. There a a few individual shouting matches in the audience as well. Generally, rather somewhat untypical of behaviour at meetings but it
was still all good ..."
 . . . . . .  . . . . . .
Hon Jason Kenney chairing westcoast meeting . . ....Richmond, B.C. Head tax Redress meeting . . .. ...and there were a lot of speakers. .. .
There's been quite a bit of press recently, and I think this piece by U of Alberta's Professor Emeritus Brian Evans sums it up:
The Edmonton Journal
Published: Tuesday, April 25, 2006
I attended the Chinese head tax redress meeting at the Royal Alberta Museum on April 22 ("Head tax tales tinged with anger: Chinese-Canadians relate families' experiences to multiculturalism and heritage ministers," The Journal, April 23).
Contrary to the thrust of an April 18 article which featured comments from Prof. Wenran Jiang ("Chinese urged not to gouge gov't on head tax: Compensation should be symbolic, head of U of A China Institute says"), motives of greed and gouging were in no way evident.
Instead there was an overwhelming desire for reconciliation of past wrongs, for recognition of the unique nature of the pain and sacrifices made by Canada's Chinese pioneers who contributed to the building of this country, for justice and for fairness.
For too long, the wounds inflicted by the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act have gone unaddressed.
On Saturday, the personal stories of the hardships caused by family separations lasting decades -- separations that no amount of money could have overcome because of the blatantly racist immigration regulations that forbade wives and children from joining their husbands and fathers in Canada -- were gut-wrenching.
While the past cannot be undone, one hopes that the current initiative by the Harper government will create the conditions under which the long delayed reconciliation and healing can take place.
Brian L. Evans, Edmonton
© The Edmonton Journal 2006
Well as this effort appears to be coming to an amicable conclusion, I must admit there has been some hiccups and grandstanding by some of those on this cause. But after all is said and done, it has been amazing watching and appreciating the incredible effort and co-ordination by everyone working on this - and it really is interesting and warming to see the use of this, the internet, a modern tool to assist in righting an old, an almost century old wrong.
I've prepared a short little collection of photos here for all to view. Special thanks go to the various photographers who shot them.
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Ottawa: Recognition of past wrongs ...
here were my thoughts on the Head Tax (Nov. 2005)
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BACKGROUND: On November 25, 2005, Ottawa finally recognized victims of legislated racial discrimination that occurred generations ago. I view this as a beginning, the "Agreement-in-Principle to Highlight Chinese Canadians' Contribution to Building Canada". You hear the usual exasperations of "it happened a long time ago, so get over it". Okay, so here's my point: most Headtax payers are dead and long gone, but there exists a handful of people still alive. Let's hear what their thoughts are.
Speaking for my late grandfather and late father, we do not want nor need the money - but to be positive about the contributions made by the pioneers that built our country. BC may have become a part of the U.S. had the transnational railway not been completed to connect Canada. So where in our history books is this fact? New and old Canadians do not know of the history of the Chinese in Canada and their role in Nation building because there is no place, like a museum, in Vancouver. This is what I and my family want - a lasting physical legacy to the history of a community that helped build our Nation. We do not want funds unaccounted for and disappearing into social support programs, no matter how noble and decent the causes ...because this sort of funding does not leave a permanent, tangible legacy. All we want is something akin to the Nikkei History Museum (Burnaby), proposed Sikh museum (Abbotsford), or the then-proposed Holocaust Memorial Centre (Ottawa). If funds can be found for these worthy institutions, why can't the same be done on the westcoast, where most headtax payers landed? I'd like to show my children and their friends real images and experiences words cannot transpire. The Ottawa redress offer will be split among many groups, and it will make it more difficult to secure a site, build a decent structure and outfit it with a proud exhibit - one that has a soul.
It is important to learn the legacy of what these pioneers have given to Canada. The headtax was reflective of the times, and how society was. Legislated racism is part of our history. I won't bore you with the details (follow the links below and read about it). An important observation is that the descendants of these headtax payers have integrated right into Canadian society - second, third and even up to sixth generation Canadians - the "bananas". Some now of them of mixed ethnicity.
The issue I have with Ottawa's offer is that it is split amongst many different Chinese Canadian groups, each with their own noble missions and agendas. So I am afraid that the weaker organizations will be muscled out of the distribution... especially the older pioneer organiations, now seeing their twilight. And knowing the complancency of the Canadian born Chinese, other more organized groups may usurp the legacy funding. Foundations are only as good as the people who administer it, and from my experience, are usually politically appointed, along with the odd strings attached.
Reviewing the list that Ottawa appended to the media release, one notices that a number of these groups are social organizations that represent recent Chinese immigrants... ie. with no historic nor legitimate claim of lineage to headtax payers. The NCCC (the umbrella organization who Ottawa has appointed to represent Headtax negotiations) is all written in Chinese, with no English nor French words... so a person like me have no idea of what's up. This is what is most unsettling.
We are Canadians with a history...despite the fact that Ottawa can’t tell the difference between a multi-generational Canadian from one that just arrived from China.
This is what is fundamentally wrong with what is going on. Ottawa's headtax redress recognition package, C-333, was originally tabled by Inky Mark, a Conservative MP. As the private member's bill made it's way through the minority Martin Liberal government, it's content got progressively diluted. The frustration to many is Ottawa's negotiations with some groups who have no real connection to Canada's pioneer people and Ottawa's steadfast position of no apology. This is the rankle that has divided up the camps who support and oppose this offer. To some, including myself, the redress package is an anemic gesture to the memory of our pioneer Canadians. But it's a start.
To be fair, there are those organizations (that support the package) whose membership consists of Canadian born individuals, and a number of these people had been battling for some sort of recognition of past injustices from Ottawa for a very long time... and perhaps, may feel that the latest offer from Ottawa is the best they can get within their lifetime. My feeling is that this effort has been a long time in the making (30 years with the original group, the CNCC, now blacklisted from the negotiations) . If a fair offer doesn't occur during this generation, other succeeding generations will pick up the effort to ensure a smart and just reconciliation is made... not a hasty one. It's already taken many many years. Another hundred years, if need be, won't make a difference.
If anything, it reminds me of the story of a politician going up to a constituent and asking, "would you go to bed with me for a million bucks?". Citizen replies, "Yup". Politician now asks, "would you go to bed with me for five bucks?" ...citizen exclaims, "what kind of person do you think I am!?" Ottawa politician says, "we've established that fact already. We're now just determining the price."
More info here: www.headtaxredress.org
The Following are Head Tax Articles and opinions by others:
Prime Minister Paul Martin Must Apologize in Parliament
by Gabriel Yiu, 6 January, 2006 Global Chinese Press
The political clout of the Chinese community has finally shown itself in the head tax redress issue. Due to the tight race, Prime Minister Paul Martin is forced to give in. In order to spread his words, the prime minister has to offer himself again and again to Chinese-language media for one-on-one interviews during his hectic campaign schedule.
He offered himself to Fairchild Radio for an interview on January 3. When he was asked about the head tax issue, Martin said: "Do I regret this? Yes. Do I apologize? Yes." The prime minister has finally apologized. But it's not enough. Furthermore, his sincerity is also being questioned.
First, the unjust and racist Chinese head tax and Chinese Exclusion Act were legislated in Parliament and had caused immense hardship to tens of thousands of Chinese Canadians. The prime minister must apologize in Parliament, so that it would be written into the history of Canada. Apologizing in an ethnic media station during the election campaign is not enough. The interesting fact is, when the prime minister was again asked the same question of apology in a press conference filled with reporters from mainstream media the following day, he did not want to discuss it.
Second, shortly before the election campaign started, the Minister of State (Multiculturalism), Raymond Chan, signed an agreement-in-principle with the National Chinese Canadian Congress which represents the Canadian Chinese community in Canada. There it is stated that the government’s position is no apology and no compensation. If Prime Minister Paul Martin genuinely apologizes on behalf of the government, he must rescind the agreement that contradicts his position. Otherwise, Martin's so-called apology is merely cheap political tactic.
Third, the meaning of an apology that carries no compensation is also in doubt. When you did something terrible to a person, causing great pain and hardship for a long period of time, a simple apology without compensation is unsatisfactory. Therefore, if the government has to apologize, it should also pay compensation to the victims, or reimburse the tax to those who paid the unfair tax or their descendants. At the very least, the government should reimburse the tax collected to about 250 of the surviving head taxpayers and spouses.
Fourth, Paul Martin should promise in sincerity that his government will re-start negotiation with the head tax families and their authorized representatives, in order to complete an honorable redress settlement package.
Given the current situation, a just and historic redress of the Head Tax and the Chinese Exclusion Act is within reach. Nevertheless, unless the prime minister can meet the above four points, the matter is still unfinished business.
On January 4, the headlines on the front page of Ming Pao were "Martin: I apologize", "3 ministers all express support for apology", and "Raymond Chan wants to be the first to jump up to apologize.”The three ministers are Ujjal Dosanjh, Stephen Owen and David Emerson. Dosanjh and Owen are lawyers; both had worked as B.C.’s Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General. David Emerson has also consulted a legal expert; they all support making an apology and don't worry about the likelihood that an apology would open a floodgate to unlimited litigations.
On the other hand, Raymond Chan, the minister who has been pronouncing that by apologizing the government would open the floodgates to unlimited litigations, thus causing taxpayers a huge burden, now wants to be the first one to jump up to apologize. The more amusing part is, in the Ming Pao story, Chan complained: "Conservative leader Stephen Harper is the most dishonest person in the Head Tax affair." He also said the first person who tabled Bill C333, Inky Mak, who is himself a head tax descendent and a conservative MP, also "agreed with the opinion of legal experts and support the government’s stand not to apologize."
The most dishonest person accusing others for being dishonest is shameful indeed. The fact is, Bill C333, first tabled by Inky Mak, had the clause of apology in it. It was the Liberal Party that amended and removed the apology clause. If Mak truly thought that apology was not called for, his original bill wouldn't have that clause. By now, we know that the floodgates excuse is merely a deceptive fear-mongering tactic. This time, Minister Chan can no longer accuse government opponents who don't buy into his reason for misleading the public. Now, Chan said he "commends the prime minister for apologizing." Chan hasn't shown a tiny bit of remorse; he immediately switches the focus to attacking his opponents.
In this redress campaign, we see a new phenomenon: the Chinese community has matured and the Chinese media have progressed. One open-line show after another, what we hear is Chinese-Canadians not influenced by the authoritative Chinese minister and the community organizations that signed and supported the unjust agreement. Even though the English-language media give wide coverage to the head tax news, it is the Chinese-language media that provide a more diverse, in-depth and leading role. Also, various community activists stepped out at the critical moment, working with the media to provide the truth, explaining the significance and the injustice and exposing the numerous problems of the agreement. Finally, even the prime minister has to concede.
How can we make the Liberal do the right thing? The solution could be quite simple. When the Liberal candidate's campaign workers in your riding call or knock on your door to seek your support, just express your dissatisfaction with their insincere head tax apology and your hesitation or refusal to vote for that candidate. We will soon hear good news.
Of course, this is also the time to demand a more clearly defined promise from the leader of the Conservative. Unlike the NDP, Stephen Harper's position on the compensation part is vague. If Mr. Harper is wise, and publicly committed to the above redress requirements, he could embarrass his major rival considerably, at the same time gain respect from the Chinese community.
- - Gabriel Yiu
TOP of PAGE
Recently Published Letters to the Editor:
Over December 2005 and January 2006, each week saw more than two to three dozen letters published in Canada's National Newspapers, Ethnic and Local Papers. And now, in the final days leading up to the January 23, 2006 election, the amount of articles written and the number of television news items have increased into a daily stream. Here is a small collection of some letters to the Editor that I've cut and paste:
Vancouver Sun
Letter by Marilyn Mulldoon
published Monday, December 5, 2005
What in the name of logic and decency are the Ottawa Liberals thinking with
respect to the Chinese Headtax proposal?
My children are of mixed racial parentage and their paternal grandfather,
Doo Nam Wong, was one of the immigrants subjected to this racially
motivated tax. Given no other ethnicity paid such a tax, was it not
racial discrimination? The head tax was thinly-veiled contempt made even
more despicable because it was legal.
Despite hefty fees, the immigrants came and worked. Many helped bring the
railway through to BC and lived in workcamps where conditions were inhumane
but still pressed on to live the Canadian Dream. During WW II many of the
"head taxed" offered themselves or their service-aged children to stand up
and fight for their new home.
In this, the Year of the Veteran, the Liberal Party has decided not to
identify and reimburse the individuals so taxed, or if deceased, the
descendants thereof. What madness is this? The Liberals wish to award the
largest portion of the settlement to an organization of recently -arrived
Chinese immigrants in Toronto! When compensation was made to our
Japanese-Canadians, was it not made to those individuals victimized?
This agreement-in-principal must be quashed. Shame on you, Ottawa.
Liberals. How do we teach our children to respect and remember Canadian
history when Ottawa is clearly only interested in buying future votes from
those whose entry to Canada was never met with blatant opposition.
Marilyn Mulldoon
Chinese Head Tax: A Legacy of Suffering
Jim Tam, Richmond Hill, Ont.
The National Post
Re: 1885 Tax Becomes An Issue In 2006, Dec. 15.
As a nation that prides itself on social justice, Canada should clear its own national conscience and apologize to Chinese immigrants and their families for the racist head tax policy in place from 1885 to 1923.
It really sickened me when our Prime Minister lectured the United States on "global conscience" in the UN Conference on Climate Change while he has failed to clear our own national conscience in his own backyard.
My grandfather came to Canada in 1911, after paying his $500 head tax, a tax immigrants from other countries did not pay. This levy enriched the government coffers by $23-million by 1923, an equivalent of $1.2-billion in current dollar value.
The Chinese Exclusion Act passed in 1923 deprived my dad of a father in flesh and blood for his entire life. And after a brief period of married life, my grandmother was widowed practically for life. Realizing the hopelessness of ever rejoining her husband, my grandmother eventually committed suicide. Such are the tragic effects the racist policy had on my family. There are many other families that suffered brokenness and decades of separation.
Since 1984, the Chinese Canadian National Council has been authorized and mandated by the head tax victims and their families to negotiate with the government for an apology and refunds -- not compensation -- of the head tax.
But now, on the eve of a federal election, the government has hastily signed a "redress agreement-in-principle" with another organization which does not have the mandate to represent the head tax victims and their families. The $2.5-million educational fund in this so-called "redress agreement" would solely go to this organization.
Vancouver Sun
Letter by David Wong,
published Monday, December 5, 2005
Federal Minister Raymond Chan provided false and erroneous
information on their November 24 "Agreement-in-Principle
to Highlight Chinese Canadians' Contribution to Building
Canada" release. As Canadians not affiliated with any
organization, we view this "agreement" as woefully anemic
and insulting. Had it not been for the historic efforts
of the Chinese to help build our national railroad, connecting Canada,
BC may have become another state of the United States.
There were at least three Vancouver organizations
identified as being represented by the National Congress
of Chinese Canadians, supporting this Ottawa agreement.
They do not. In fact, one organization, of which our
late grandfather was a founding member, was founded
entirely by head tax payers and their families.
It is an insult to the memory of our pioneer Canadians.
It is shameful and disgusting that Politicians would grovel
to such a new low level to use highly honoured
institutions for their own self-serving agenda.
Sincerely,
David Wong
Let's think again about redress for head tax scandal
* * * Editorial by The Province
Published: Wednesday, December 28, 2005
It is becoming increasingly clear that a federal government plan designed to atone for almost a century of injustice inflicted on the Chinese-Canadian community is not merely insufficient, but risks adding insult to injury.
When community groups from across the country were flown to Vancouver Nov. 24 to hear details of the plan from multiculturalism minister Raymond Chan, their expectations were high. For more than 20 years, prominent community leaders have campaigned for
an apology and compensation for victims of the notorious head tax, imposed on all Chinese immigrants to Canada from 1885 to 1923.
But the agreement in principle with four community groups that Chan announced offered only funds for educational projects and memorial plaques. Leading intellectuals among the Chinese community in Vancouver say the negotiations that produced the deal were held with groups "hand-picked" by Ottawa and were not representative of the community at large. They say the realization that an apology would not be part of the deal came as a major shock.
At a meeting this week, they estimated that as many as 90 per cent of Chinese-Canadians now want the government to rescind the agreement. Most adamant in its opposition is the Chinese Canadian National Council, whose founding president, Joseph Wong of Toronto, has warned that the issue could tilt the balance against the Liberals in ridings where there is a substantial Chinese-Canadian vote.
Since the early 1980s, the CCNC has been compiling a register of those who paid the head tax, which rose over the years from $50 to a staggering $500. The list, which includes descendants of victims, contains some 4,000 names.
Community leaders say the demand for compensation is more symbolic than it is about the money.
"We want honorable redress for our Chinese pioneers," says Thekla Lit, a Vancouver social worker and prominent activist.The Liberal government's hasty attempt to put right a historic wrong on the eve of an election smacks of opportunism. The head-tax scandal already grubbies the pages of Canada's history books and any redress should not be tarnished by an association with cheap political advantage.
Prime Minister Paul Martin should admit his mistake, cancel the agreement and promise to think again. After Jan. 23.
Redress: Liberal Senator Vivienne Poy's Speech on the Headtax
Senator Poy, sister-in-law of former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, prepared the following speech (variations of this speech were presented at different locales). What is interesting is that she makes reference to Omatsu's "Japan's Economic clout" which suggests, helped with the Japanese Canadian redress efforts. Poy's later presentations dropped this remark. Here is a portion of her speech for the record:
... For all of you who really want to learn about the insider story of the Japanese Canadian redress, you should read Bitter Sweet Passage by Maryka Omatsu, who is a judge in Ontario, and who was intimately involved with the negotiations. I agree with her that, if it had not been for the settlement in the U.S., and the economic clout of Japan, it would not have happened in Canada.
former for a complete PDF copy of Senator Poy's address, download the entire file here, or go to the government link site here:
Redress: Former NDP leader, now Liberal Health Minister, Ujjal Dosanjh:
Controversial Presentation to NCCC Nov. 25, 2005 (Prime Minister Martin, Minister Dosanjh, Minister Chan)
Present at the November 25, 2005 presentation to NCCC was Minister Ujjal Dosanjh. Over the very loud and angry protests outside the ceremony, Mr Dosanjh helped preside over the delivery of the Martin Liberals "Agreement in Principle" to the immigrant Chinese dominated NCCC. This was in contrast to Mr. Dosanjh's speech of 13 years earlier. It appears Mr. Dosanjh, has yet again flip flopped on his ideals. First it was straying away from his loyal NDP colleagues by hopping over to Mr. Martin's Liberals, now he re-interprets the ideals of fairness and transparency.
Let's go back a few years and refresh Mr. Dosanjh's memory:
On Friday, May 22, 1992 - Minister Dosanjh while as the NDP Member of the Legislative Assembly (BC) brought forward a bill to recognize and immediately address the Head tax tarnish on Canada. The entire presentation is on 17 pages, here are exerpted pieces for the record, Mr. Dosanjh states:
"I stand here today not to find fault with those pioneers who built this province and this country. I stand here to recognize those other pioneers who were the victims of this injustice and who also contributed to the building of this province and to the building of this country -- the Chinese Canadians who have over the last 130 years worked very, very hard along with other British Columbians and Canadians to make this province and this country what it is today.
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That is the unfortunate history of the injustice suffered by thousands of Chinese Canadians and their descendants over the years. It's important to recognize that, because if we as a society don't recognize that, we don't make any progress.
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It is extremely disturbing that the federal government has been lobbied.... Representations have been made to them over the years. In fact, the first head-tax payer to raise this issue back in the early eighties -- with Margaret Mitchell, the Member of Parliament for Vancouver East, who raised it in the House -- has already passed away. Time is running out. I understand there are less than 200 surviving head-tax payers. It's important that we, as a society and a province, send a message to our children that we are willing to review history, look at our mistakes, stand tall, admit the mistakes and in the attempt to bring all of our citizens into the Canadian fold in a real and meaningful way, offer an apology to them. It is not infra dignitatem. It is not beneath our dignity as Canadians and as British Columbians. In fact, it only enhances our dignity to ask the federal government to do what's right and what's just and not delay it even one day more.
Here is the full 17 page Hansard transcript (in PDF) of the 1992 Dosanjh speech. Politicians... small wonder why Canadians can't trust them.
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Redress: Legal Opinion of the Headtax - Political v/s Legal route
Canadian law firm Lawson Lundell presented an opionion on the Chinese Head tax Redress. It is interesting to note that presiding Judge Cummings stated that the effort would not pass the legal test, and instead suggested to go through a political route.
Maybe they should have a look at the fair and successful implementation of a similar effort in New Zealand, known there as the "Poll Tax".
Here is the full 2 page PDF transcript.
Redress: Vancouver Sun Article December 2, 2005
Vancouver Sun 2005 Dec 02
Section: B - Page Number: B1
News Reporter Daphne Bramham writes as the headline article on page B01:
" Compensate Chinese immigrants fairly:
Botched attempt at redress has exposed a misunderstanding about the Chinese-Canadian community "
For a view at the full one page article, click here for the PDF file.
HEAD TAX redress: Vancouver Sun letter by Brad Lee
Vancouver Sun 2005 Nov 19
Section: Observer - Page Number: C7
The Liberals bungle a great opportunity to do the right thing
by Brad Lee
Let this go down in history: Paul Martin’s Liberals had an opportunity to correct past injustices involving decades of legislated racism against the Chinese in this country. Instead, they are bungling it.
In their headlong rush to purchase goodwill among voters ahead of an election, through multimillion-dollar deals in principle with the Ukrainians, the Italians and other groups close to political noliability settlements, the Liberals have cast aside the language and intent of true reconciliation and redress.
Witness Bill C-333, the so-called “Immigrants of Chinese Origin Exclusionary Measures Recognition Act,” now wending its way toward third reading in Parliament, after breezing through final amendments at the Liberal-dominated standing committee on heritage. In just two meetings of the committee, a strange cabal of Liberals and Tories managed to do away with wording acknowledging the injustices of the head tax on Chinese immigrants, from 1885 to 1923, and the Chinese Exclusion Act (1923-1947.)
Historians who review the implications of Bill C-333 on social justice will not see words like “unjust,” “discrimination,” “racism,” nor any of their derivatives. Equally, they will see no evidence of “reconciliation,” “redress,” “reparations” or “compensation.” Further investigation will show missteps by Martin’s Liberals in drafting amendments to the private member’s bill simply to avoid any hint of government liability. The backward reasoning for watering down the text and intent of the bill is that the head tax and Exclusion Act were legal at the time so the government bears no actual responsibility for what happened.
(Never mind that the $500 my grandfather paid to enter Canada, along with the varying amounts from more than 82,000 other Chinese, had generated $23 million by 1923 for government coffers. In contrast, non-Chinese immigrants were offered a quarter-section of land to settle here.)
“In each case the attorney-general of Canada, on behalf of the government of Canada, disagreed with the arguments made on the basis that what was done during the two wars, and either under the War Measures Act in the case of the Germans and Italians, and under a variety of immigration acts in the case of the Chinese, that all those measures were perfectly legal,” according to Canadian Heritage legal counsel Michel Francoeur.
Would Canadian justices trying the cases of genocide in war-torn countries, or even historians looking back at the roots of the Holocaust, accept this reasoning? Adding insult to century-old injury, the Liberals have also insisted on naming a single group, the National Congress of Chinese Canadians formed in 1991 and hardly representative of the broader community, as the government’s sole partner on projects to recognize past “exclusionary measures.”
All this because the NCCC’s leaders have agreed to the Liberals’ position of “no apology, no compensation.” As well, due diligence on this group has been set aside in favour of political expediency. Meanwhile, the Chinese Canadian National Council, which has registered more than 4,000 head-tax payers and their families since 1984, has been refused a seat at the reconciliation table.
Our historians may note misgivings about Bill C-333 voiced by MP Libby Davies (NDP—Vancouver East) and echoed by Bloc Quebecois MPs Maka Kotto (Saint-Lambert) and Meili Faille (Vaudreuil-Soulanges.) “As far as saying we can only name one organization because they’re the only ones who are willing to work with the government under the terms set by the government, I mean what is that about?” Davies asked. “Is that how we do our business? That only if you agree beforehand that these are the terms you get to participate in the process. That’s not my understanding of parliamentary democracy.”
But with Martin’s Liberals it has always been about the money.
For weeks, officials at Canadian Heritage have been negotiating a $12.5-million payment to the NCCC in the matter of recognizing the imposition of exclusionary measures on Chinese Canadians. According to Chinese media, the plan is for the prime minister to travel to Vancouver, after the first ministers’ meeting in Kelowna next week to announce the deal at the NCCC’s national conference.
Similar to a redress package unveiled last weekend for redress of the Italian Canadians over internment during the Second World War, there will be much handshaking and many smiles for the cameras. Martin might even repeat his comment that, “You know as well as I do it’s not enough to remember the past — you have to learn from it.”
Problem is, the prime minister and his party are still foggy on the details.
Brad Lee is Chinese-Canadian. His family has been in Canada for five generations. He lives in Toronto.
Bananas
Approximately 30% of Vancouver's lower mainland population is of Chinese ancestry. What is particularly interesting is that within this community exists an invisible minority who can not read nor write the language of their ancestors. These are the multi-generational Canadians who are considered "bananas" (yellow outside, and white inside) by people who still have a cultural connect - generally, those who recently immigrated to our nation. Although there are no figures I can come up with, it is believed that this "banana" group comprise of approximately 25% of Chinese Canadian population within the Vancouver region. Of particular interest is that as a result of some of the past adversities subjected to the parents and grandparents of the banana generation, large numbers of their children were encouraged to pursue a higher education, becoming professionals. This was viewed as the best opportunity available, as it enabled acceptance and integration to mainstream Canadian society...something that was unachieveable to a large extent by the preceding generation(s).
Many folks of the banana generation, having matured, have taken interest and are learning more of their ancestral heritage and history in Canada. This invisible minority is an interesting and large economic market yet to be tapped by both "mainstream" and the Chinese speaking communities.
I did a google search on the word "Banana", and found reference to an old 1984 article I had written for my old university student Rag, the "Ubyssey". In fact, my old article was referenced on a number of pseudo-intellectual dissertations that Google uncovered. In a nutshell, my article described my experiences as a Canadian visiting his ancestral homeland ...sharing thoughts and hints of how to survive on a student's shoestring budget. This was Part I of my article, as I had wanted to visit my ancestral village...but never did. I got ill and never completed my journey. I contacted my old Alma Mater this fall (2005) and they are most receptive for me to complete Part II of my article -- twenty years later! It will be published in January of 2006. Cool!
click to get a larger image of my old UBC article (Oct. 16, 1984)
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Stoooopid Politicians - part 2:
Former MP and Heritage Minister, Sheila Copps organized a large gathering for her "Canadian Diversity Advisory Council and Forum" a few years back during her unsuccessful bid for the 2003 Liberal leadership race.
What was particularly offensive was that this so-called Diversity Forum had no reps from any of the many and large diverse east Asian Canadian communities (eg. Chinese, Japanese, Korean). That's probably why her ministry ended up with a poster celebrating Asian Heritage Month with slitty eyed, buck-toothed smiling caricatures... and oh yes, Ottawa’s poster also showed Canadians with pointy conical Asian headgear.
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Even Liberal Senator Poy was mighty offended (Photo of Copps stretched to fit onto page. She's actually much fatter & plumper looking)
Last time we saw Canadians dressed like this was at the 2003 Liberal Leadership convention. < click 2 enlarge > Top 10 © 2003 H.Wai
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David Wong
Saltwater City
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