Speeches – 2007

The Honourable Jason Kenney

Mark the First Chinese Head Tax Payments for Persons in Conjugal Relationships

Vancouver, British Columbia
April 13, 2007

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Introduction

  • Symbolic event to recognize that the first payments are starting to go out to persons in conjugal relationships with Head Tax payers who are now deceased.
  • Acknowledge the people invited – conjugal partners of Head Tax payers who are deceased and their families.

History of Chinese Head Tax in Canada

  • More than 15,000 Chinese labourers first came to Canada in the mid-19 th century to assist with the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
  • Once the railway was complete, a number of measures were enacted to stem the flow of immigrants from China to Canada.
  • Beginning with the Chinese Immigration Act of 1885, a Head Tax of $50 was imposed on Chinese newcomers. The Government subsequently raised this amount to $100 in 1900, and then to $500 in 1903.
  • This tax remained in place until 1923, at which time the Chinese Immigration Act was amended and effectively excluded most Chinese immigrants to Canada until 1947.
  • Similar legislation – which imposed a head tax on Chinese immigrants from 1906 to 1949 – existed in the Dominion of Newfoundland before it joined Confederation.
  • The Chinese-Canadian community paid a high cost for this.
    • Many family members were left behind in China, never to be reunited.
    • Many families lived apart and in poverty.
    • And to this day, many Chinese-Canadians have had trouble seeing themselves as fully Canadian because of the experience.
  • As acknowledged by Canadian Courts, the Head Tax was legal at the time.
  • However, Canada' s New Government believes that the Head Tax was based on race and that it is inconsistent with the values that Canadians hold today.

Chinese Head Tax Redress

  • In the April 2006 Speech from the Throne, Canada' s New Government made a commitment to apologize for the Chinese Head Tax.
  • On June 22, 2006, the Prime Minister– on behalf of all Canadians and the Government– offered a full apology to Chinese Canadians for the head tax and expressed deep sorrow for the subsequent exclusion of Chinese immigrants. He said:
    • " … on behalf of all Canadians and the Government of Canada, we offer a full apology to Chinese Canadians for the head tax and express our deepest sorrow for the subsequent exclusion of Chinese immigrants."
  • To give substantial meaning to the official apology, the Minister of Canadian Heritage announced, on June 22, 2006, that ex-gratia symbolic payments of $20,000 will be made to living Head Tax payers and conjugal partners.
  • Also on June 22, 2006, the Minister of Canadian Heritage announced a $24 million Community Historical Recognition Program (CHRP) and a $10 million National Historical Recognition Program (NHRP).
    • Through the CHRP, the Government will provide funding for community projects linked to wartime measures and immigration restrictions.
    • The NHRP will fund federal initiatives focusing on increasing awareness and educating all Canadians, particularly youth, about the discrimination and hardship faced by the Chinese and other ethno-cultural communities.
  • At the end of August 2006, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, the Honourable Bev Oda, announced that living head-tax payers could apply for ex gratia symbolic payments of $20,000.
  • The following October 20, she participated in a ceremony in Vancouver to present the first ex-gratia payments, and then in a similar ceremony in Toronto on December 14.
  • As of April 5, 2007, 42 symbolic payments have been made to Head Tax payers.
  • Cheques continue to be processed and sent out to recipients as quickly as possible.

Payments to Persons in Conjugal Relationship With Head Tax Payer

  • On December 1, 2006, Canada' s New Government followed through further on its promise, made in June, that persons who had been in a conjugal relationship with a head-tax payer who is now deceased could apply for a symbolic payment of $20,000.
  • Which brings me to the reason we are here today.
  • As of April 5, 2007, the Department of Canadian Heritage has received 512 applications.
  • The first ex-gratia payments have been sent out by courier, 38 as of April 5 th, to conjugal partners of now deceased Head Tax payers.

Conclusion

  • We will continue to process the applications as quickly as possible.
  • We know that each cheque represents one more step toward fulfilling our government' s commitment to recognize past experiences and hardships and contribute to healing in the Chinese Canadian community.
  • Thank you for coming today.