For Immediate Release -- Friday, June 30, 2006
CANADA DAY MARKS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR HEALING
United Church Commends Apology and Redress of Chinese Head Tax
Toronto: Canada Day this year will have special significance for Chinese Canadians who bear the legacy of the 1885-1923 Chinese Immigration Acts and what is known as the Chinese Exclusion Act.
The 1923 Chinese Immigration Act, known as the Chinese Exclusion Act, was enacted on July 1, 1923, and prohibited most Chinese persons from entering Canada until the Act was repealed in 1947. July 1 has not been celebrated as Dominion Day or Canada Day by many in the Chinese Canadian community since that time, but is still known by many as "Humiliation Day."
"Every time we sing 'O Canada' we sing, 'God keep our land glorious and free,'" says Kim Uyede-Kai, The United Church of Canada's General Council Minister, Racial Justice and Gender Justice. She explains, however, that before the lyrics were revised, the words were, "O Canada, glorious and free."
"But Canada has not always been free for all its people," says Uyede-Kai. "The revised lyrics are a prayer for peace, justice, and freedom for all people wronged on this land."
She explains that thousands of men were welcomed to Canada from China to work on the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway, often at the cost of their lives, and were paid half the wages of non-Chinese railway labourers. When the CPR construction was completed in 1885, Canada no longer required Chinese labourers, who were considered undesirable citizens. As the economic situation in British Columbia began to deteriorate, agitation against the Chinese in Canada grew.
The Chinese Immigration Acts beginning in 1885 were meant to "restrict and regulate" and thus discourage immigration of "persons of Chinese origin" as the men began to bring wives and families to Canada. In 1885 the Act known informally as "head tax legislation" was set at $50 per person, including ethnic Chinese with British nationality. By 1904, the tax on Chinese immigrants was $500. When the exorbitant tax failed to deter Chinese immigration, the 1923 Chinese Immigration Act was enacted and prohibited immigration from China with only some exceptions.
Chinese Canadian organizations and individuals have been seeking financial compensation and a formal apology since the 1980s. In 2004, the UN Special Rapporteur on Racism, Mr. Doudou Diène, recommended to the UN Commission on Human Rights that the Government of Canada consult with members of the Chinese Canadian community on possibilities of compensation to those affected by the Chinese head tax and Exclusion Act.
On June 22, 2006, the Government of Canada issued a formal apology to the Chinese Canadian community for the racist actions of the past Chinese head tax and Exclusion Act. Symbolic individual payments of $20,000 will go to some 30 survivors who paid the head tax and to the living spouses of deceased payers. Funds will also be set aside for a national recognition program that will be directed to related community projects.
The United Church of Canada commends the apology and compensation package announced by the Government of Canada. A historic and racist wrong has been recognized and righted.
"Our hopeful prayer is that on July 1, 2006, 'Humiliation Day' can begin to become Canada Day for many in the Chinese Canadian community as the healing process begins," says Uyede-Kai.
For further information, please contact: Mary-Frances Denis Communications Officer The United Church of Canada 416-231-7680 ext. 2016
- 30 -