The History of Chinese Head Tax - Coursework Example

The History of Chinese Head Tax Introduction The first Chinese to ever arrive in Canada was in 1788. The next arrival of the Chinese immigrants was in 1858 escaping their county’s poverty. Moving to Canada was going to open an opportunity to get fortunes in a foreign country where there was plenty of gold and fur. Migrating to a far away land by Chinese men in search of fortunes meant that they had to leave their families behind. Most Chinese got employed in building roads, digging ditches and as laborers by the British Commonwealth colony and some became gold prospectors. More and more Chinese migrants continued moving to Canada and no attention was put to that by the ten British Columbia. Some of the men even started doing domestic services which were against Chinese traditions. It was very hard to find any Chinese at the top of the economic and social ladder (Chan, 2014). Since British Columbia had become part of Canada, there was the need for the transcontinental railway that would join British Columbia to Canada. That meant that more working men were needed for the railway construction, and thus, in 1881, more Chinese immigrants arrived to be employed. By 1885, the construction of the railway connected the new province to Canada was completed. The Chinese migrants were of vital importance to Canada, but even so, anti-Chinese legislation got enacted with the claim that their existence in Canada was a threat to the way of life of Canadians. Introduction of the head tax on Chinese immigrants The politicians and the citizens with the help of the media started advancing for the need of a “white Canada”. There were many Chinese immigrants now living in Canada, and thus, the government was asked to control the rate at which the Chinese were moving to Canada. Immediately the Canadian Pacific Railway was completely constructed and operating, the federal government acted fast and put a restriction on the Chinese migration to Canada. It passed the anti-Chinese bill in 1885 being in the form of Head taxi. The bill stated that, for every Chinese citizen entering Canada, they had to pay a Head taxi $50. This tax was only to be done for the Chinese citizens migrating to Canada and not any other group. $50 could be afforded by some Chinese immigrants, and thus the federal government was forced to increase the Head taxi $100 in 1900. The Head taxi was in 1903 increased to $500, a sum which was impossible for any Chinese to raise. That meant that most families were stranded and they could not be reunited. A Chinese person had to work for two years to earn $500 during that time in Canada (Chan, 2014). Even though the gateway to Canada for the Chinese was very expensive, still, most of them continued migrating to Canada. The federal government could not be defeated and so they wanted to be in control of the way in which the Chinese entered Canada, and so, a Chinese Immigration Act was passed by the Canadian Parliament in 1923. The Act stated that not more than fifty Chinese immigrants were to be allowed to enter Canada. This was an act of humiliation to the Chinese people and thus, 1 July 1923, was named Dominion Day but to Chinese people, it was “Humiliation Day”. Impact of the Head Tax The Chinese community was becoming a community of bachelors. Families were stranded and could not be reunited easily. For a Chinese man to reunite with his family, he had to pay $500 for that to happen. That was a disappointment since at first; they could not migrate with the whole family before the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway. It was impossible to reunite, and some Chinese families were never reunited again. For the Chinese women and children, they faced starvation and many other hardships. The children had to be raised by only one parent. If a Chinese family had to be reunited, the age gap between the first child and the next was very large. Chinese immigration was constrained and families had to stay apart. For the Canadian government, the bill had a positive impact. The government together with the provinces profited a lot from the Head taxi. Within 38 years, the government had collected $23 million from the Chinese migrants. Hopes of reuniting with families by the Chinese men became even impossible when immigration to Canada by the Chinese was prohibited. The increase of the head tax to $500 made a significant change in the labor industry. More time for working was allocated. The salary was reduced since it was ignored that the Chinese men did not need a living wage for their families to be supported. Some family members even ended up dying without seeing each other. Germaine Wong’s father lost his first wife during the long separation. He had to remarry when he was 65 years and had for him to bring his family to Canada. Gim Wong’s father had to pay $500 to reunite with Gim’s mother after thirteen years. His father was not so happy and he one day went around Canada on a motorcycle to address his frustrations about the head tax. Why the head tax should be removed The head discriminates against the new immigrants since they had to pay a special tax. The immigrants need not to pay the head tax since they are still going to pay for other Canada taxes. The importance of Chinese immigrants to Canada is very vital since they have the skills that Canada needs. The head tax discriminated against the poor since the amount was a flat rate. The poor were not considered if they could afford the said amount and the fact that they did not know if the new immigrants were capable of paying or not. Having to pay for the head tax was a financial burden to the Chinese immigrants. It meant they had to spend a better part of their years paying for the debt. It becomes hard to pay for rent and even get food for the family since they have to finish paying the debt first. The head tax also goes against the human rights. The right of a family to be together and also the right of the child to grow with a father. Seeking compensation by the Chinese immigrants The Chinese immigrants have since the 1980s moved forward to make sure that they are compensated for the atrocities the federal government of Canada did to them (Mar, 2010). Apart from being compensated, someone has to take the blame about the head tax and provide an apology to the Chinese immigrants. The suffering that was caused during those years was something no Chinese immigrant is willing to let go with only an apology. But even so, it goes a greater step for the Canadian government to make such a move. The need to be compensated for the injustices done to the Chinese Canadian community has continued since 1984. The community seeks that the Canadian government to acknowledge all the atrocities done to the Chinese immigrants. The Canadian’s Chinese community has moved forward to seek for the $23 million that was collected in the years of 1885 to 1923. Some Chinese immigrants that had to go through the head tax law are still alive. The Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC) has over 4000 head tax payers that they represent. It has continued with the struggle for the compensation of the survivors since 1984. Campaigning for the compensation is not an easy thing. They had to be supported by other groups and always on the move to organize meetings. Making sure that their message was heard everywhere in Canada, they published reports, went to schools making presentations and thus building their media profile. The CCNC has made sure to even have the very important people like the multicultural Ministers to air their grievances on behalf of the Chinese Immigrants. The NDP MPs like Don Davies and Olivia Chow in 2011 placed a motion for the redress of the Chinese head tax payers. They were to move to parliament and seek justice for the descendants of those who gone through the bill. Davies argued that it a hard time for the children to be separated from the parents for a long time. That was an emotional and social effect that could not be measured. Sid Chow from the Head Tax Families Society of Canada insists that the Chinese Canadian head tax payer’s descendants are to be given the funds that were taxed in an unjust manner. This refund move by the Chinese Canadian immigrants is one that is very urgent with the fact that most of the seekers are in their old days (Cole, 2011). On July 1, 2006, the Chinese Canadians organized a national day and marched across the street and cities of Canada. There were hundreds of Chinese Canadians in local marches making sure to fight for the compensation of the paid head tax. They propose the first descendants of the Chinese Canadian head tax payers be compensated with the amount starting from $10000 to $30000 per each individual. For now, 4000 of the protestors have been registered since they all have the “Head Tax” Certificates. The Head Tax Certificates was a form in which any Chinese immigrant would show to any legal officer of the payment before entering the country. Any Chinese immigrant found without the certificate was to pay $500 and also be punished and humiliated. Responses from the Canadian government The government was very reluctant to meet the grievances of the Chinese immigrants. The first offer was in 1993, by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. A museum wing and individual medallions were offered to the compensation seeking communities. The Prime Minister also made other collective measures to the Chinese immigrants. The groups, led by the CCNC, refused to collect the offer, saying that it was not enough. Following the election of Prime Minister Jean Chretien the same year, he, on behalf of the Government, said that under no circumstances were they to give an apology to the Chinese immigrants head tax payers. This led to the Chinese communities’ continuity in the fight for compensation and an apology from the Canadian Government. When CCNC moved to court against the Canadian government, it reported that the government was profiting from racism. That was an act which was against the international human rights law. Court proceedings continued for the following years until in 2001 when the court of Ontario judged that no redress will be done by the Canadian government. The Ontario court argued that the current government of Canada had no obligation to compensate the Canadian immigrants. Further, the case brought in court was not legal with regard to the compensation of the racist policies that had passed. Following the action of the judge in 2001 from Ontario court, the Chinese immigrants put pressure to the government and awareness was created. A private deal done by a National Congress Chinese Canadians and Canada government was made in 2005. $12.5 million deal was reached and was not for the compensation of the head taxpayers but rather to form a non-profit foundation to educate the Canadians about the anti-Chinese discrimination. This was not even to compensate the Chinese immigrants, something that they wanted and campaigned for. The responses made by the government to the Chinese immigrants show how the Canadian government is not willing to compensate them. The current government has put the blame of the head tax to the former federal government. The government continued negative response to the Chinese immigrants is something that goes against the human rights. The fact that the Chinese immigrants played an important part in making sure that Canada was joined by British Columbia and going to the World War II to fight for the government is enough reason for them to be given an apology followed by compensation. Recognizing the importance of the Chinese immigrants by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on 2006 made a major step in the long struggle for the compensation. Consultations were made for an apology that was to be issued publicly to the Chinese immigrants and by 22nd June, 2006, a conservative apology was made (Lenzerini, 2008). This was followed by the compensation of $20000 to the survivors and also the spouses of the head tax payers. About 20 Chinese Canadian immigrants were alive in 2006 that had paid the head tax. Discriminatory practices always make people suffer in ways that will affect them for a long time. To make sure that there is a remedy for that, the government need to come up with a bill of rights that is hard to be easily overturned by the legislature. The bill of rights will make sure that everyone is protected from such practices. Discrimination, especially to the Chinese immigrants, left most of them poor and also lost their families. The best remedy for these people is s form of compensation to them in the form of funds so that they could rebuild their lives again. Starting over again to get away from poverty just after losing their family members is a good remedy especially for those who had lost their relatives. People can up with campaigns against discrimination practices and make sure to present the consequences of such practices. That is perfect especially when presented in schools. Since foreign people to a certain country are seen as a threat and yet some of them bring good ideas to the country, it is best that we understand that fact and embrace the immigrants. The government can make sure that as long as the immigrant is in the country through the correct procedures, they are to be treated the same as it were their home country. Another remedy is that the government can come up with a way in which it can remember those ones that went through hardships for the development of the country, even though they were discriminated. For the Chinese immigrants to build a railway under very low salaries without protests is something that is to be appreciated. A national day can be formed for that purpose (Matas, 1994). Conclusion The Canadian government is at the forefront of the fight against discrimination against the immigrants. Accepting the fact that the bill on the head tax affected the Chinese immigrants was a great step towards reconciliation of the parties. Seeking to also make sure that the Chinese immigrants are compensated for the atrocities done to them is the great move the government should not miss. Making an apology to the Chinese Canadian immigrants in a public manner shows a government that is ready to take the blame. References Chan, A. (2014). Righting Canadas Wrongs: The Chinese Head Tax: and Anti-Chinese Immigration Policies in the Twentieth Century. Manitoba, Canada: James Lorimer & Company. Cole, Y. (2011, January 24). NDP motion to seek redress for descendants of Chinese head-tax payers. Retrieved from The Georgia Straight: http://www.straight.com/article-369802/vancouver/ndp-motion-seek-redress-descendants-chinese-head-tax-payers Lenzerini, F. (Ed.). (2008). Reparations for Indigenous Peoples: International and Comparative Perspectives. New York: Oxford University Press. Mar, L. R. (2010). Brokering Belonging: Chinese in Canadas Exclusion Era, 1885-1945. New York: Oxford University Press. Matas, D. (1994). No More: The Battle Against Human Rights Violations. (D. Mills, Ed.) Toronto, Canada: Dundurn. Read More