News Release

From the Prime Minister's Web Site (http://www.pm.gc.ca/)

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Prime Minister Harper offers full apology for the Chinese Head Tax

June 22, 2006
Ottawa, Ontario

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today offered a full apology for the Head Tax imposed on Chinese immigrants entering Canada between 1885 and 1923, and Newfoundland until 1949. He expressed his deepest sorrow for the subsequent Chinese Immigration Act.

“For over six decades, these race-based measures, aimed solely at the Chinese, were implemented with deliberation by the Canadian state,” said the Prime Minister. ”This was a grave injustice, and one we are morally obligated to acknowledge.”

The Prime Minister stated that the Government of Canada will make symbolic ex-gratia payments to those who were required to pay the Head Tax and who are still alive today, and to the surviving spouses of deceased Head Tax payers. It will also establish funds for national and community projects aimed at acknowledging the impact of past wartime measures and immigration restrictions on ethno-cultural communities.

“We have the collective responsibility to build a country based firmly on the notion of equality of opportunity, regardless of one’s race or ethnic origin,” concluded the Prime Minister.

In response to the Prime Minister’s apology, Canadian Heritage Minister Beverley Oda remarked, “With today’s apology the Government is following through on its promise to the Chinese-Canadian community, one which was subjected to a unique situation. My Department will work hard in the coming months and years to strengthen the sense of inclusion of Chinese-Canadians, and indeed of all communities in Canada.”


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Backgrounder

The Issue:

Over 15,000 Chinese labourers first came to Canada in the mid-nineteenth century to assist in the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Once the railway was complete, the government of the day set in place a number of measures to stop 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, when the Government amended the Chinese Immigration Act and effectively banned most Chinese immigrants to Canada until 1947. Newfoundland also imposed a Head Tax on Chinese immigrants from 1906 to 1949, the year Newfoundland joined Confederation.

The Head Tax was legal at the time, as acknowledged by Canadian Courts. However, the Government of Canada accepts that the Head Tax was race-based and inconsistent with the values that Canadians hold today.

Our Plan:

On June 22, on behalf of the Government of Canada, the Prime Minister apologized in the House of Commons for the implementation of the Head Tax.

The Government also announced its intention to offer symbolic individual payments of $20,000 to living Chinese Head Tax payers and living spouses of deceased payers.

The Government will also be establishing a $24-million community historical recognition program to provide grant and contribution funding for community projects linked to wartime measures and immigration restrictions and a $10-million national historical recognition program to fund federal initiatives, developed in partnership with other stakeholders.

The specifics of each initiative (symbolic payments, community programs and national recognition programs) are being finalized, and implementation is anticipated to begin in Fall of 2006.

Information on eligibility, verification and the application process will be made available once finalized.

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Speech

From the Prime Minister's Web Site (http://www.pm.gc.ca/)

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Address by the Prime Minister at a reception for members of the Chinese Community

June 22, 2006
Ottawa, Ontario

Notes for an Address by
The Right Honourable Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada

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Good afternoon.

Honoured guests.

Colleagues from the House of Commons and the Senate.

Canadians.

It gives me great pleasure to be with you here today.

Before I begin, I would like to take a moment to offer my thanks to the surviving head tax payers, their spouses, and the large number of family members who are with us here today.

I know many of you have travelled great distances to join us, and we are grateful that you have made the journey to witness this important day.

I would also like to offer my gratitude to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, the Honourable Bev Oda, and to my Parliamentary Secretary, Jason Kenney.

Today’s apology is in no small part due to their hard work and determination to see us right this historic wrong.

Today is an important day.

– One on which we turn the page on a sad period of our history.

– Allow for the healing of our national conscience to begin.

– And move forward as one nation.

Canada is a great country.

Strong, united, independent and free.

A nation that is:

– Prosperous.
– Diverse.
– Beautiful.
– And fair.

It’s why so many have come to our land.

And why so many more seek to come here.

But at times in our history, we, like others, have made mistakes.

Sometimes serious ones.

When this occurs, it is necessary to own up to the fact.

That is what our government did today by issuing a formal apology to the Chinese-Canadian community for the head tax.

– And by expressing our deepest regret for the exclusion act.

As I said in the House of Commons a short while ago,
gar nar dai doe heem.

The measures were shameful.

They separated families.

They caused great financial hardship.

And they discriminated against people – for no reason other than they were different.

– People who had made the difficult decision to leave behind their loved ones and their homeland for a country halfway around the world.
A tremendous sacrifice by any measure.

And one for which they were neither commended nor thanked.

But rather, punished.

These proud, hard-working Chinese newcomers were subjected to the humiliation of having to pay a head tax.

The head tax may lie decades back in our past.

But its effects linger on in the Chinese-Canadian community to this day.

A fact that was powerfully conveyed to me when I met with a group of head tax survivors recently in Vancouver.

The experiences and memories shared affected me deeply.

Theirs were stories of:

• Sacrifice;

• Deprivation and determination; as well as

• Triumph over adversity.

These people came to Canada to work hard and to have a better life.

And in so doing, to help build a stronger, better Canada for all of us.

Over the years, Chinese-Canadians have amassed an enviable record of accomplishments.

A fact I am reminded of as I stand here in the railway room, which served as the home for the parliamentary committee that dealt with railways.

A place that is particularly fitting since Chinese workers played such a large role in the building of Canada’s railways.

The most important being the Canadian pacific.

Begun in 1881, and completed four years later, this transcontinental link was the iron backbone that bound our fledgling country together.
It was largely responsible for the settlement of the west.

And it played a key role in the development of the Canadian economy.

Simply put, the Canadian pacific railway helped make the Canada we know today.

And its construction would not have been possible without the efforts of thousands of Chinese labourers.

These men, however, were not thanked.

Nor were their labours commended.

Rather, in an attempt to deter further Chinese immigration, the government of the day implemented the head tax.

To try and keep them out.

It was an unconscionable act.

An act for which Canadians are deeply sorry.
Canada is infinitely richer because of the contributions Chinese-Canadians have made and continue to make.

From Vancouver, through the Prairies, to Toronto, Montréal and beyond, Canadians of Chinese descent have strengthened every community in which they have settled.

Your work ethic.

Your commitment to family and country.

Your spirit of entrepreneurship.

These are the qualities that have helped shape Canada in the past, and will lead us forward in the 21st century.

A country that is strong.

One that is independent.

And one that is confidently taking its rightful place on the international stage.

But before we can all move forward together as Canadians and achieve our full potential, we must first lay to rest the past wrong of the head tax.

Today’s apology – along with individual and community redress actions - will not erase the painful memories for which these past measures are responsible.

But it will allow for the healing process to begin.

– Allow us to unshackle ourselves from the burden of the past.

– So we can join together in moving Canada forward.

I sincerely hope today’s apology will provide you with some measure of closure.

And a sense that justice has finally been done.

Thank you.
God bless Canada.

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Speech

From the Prime Minister's Web Site (http://www.pm.gc.ca/)

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Address by the Prime Minister on the Chinese Head Tax Redress

June 22, 2006
Ottawa, Ontario

Notes for an Address by
The Right Honourable Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada

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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to formally turn the page on an unfortunate period in Canada’s past.

One during which a group of people - who only sought to build a better life - was repeatedly and deliberately singled out for unjust treatment.

I speak, of course, of the head tax that was imposed on Chinese immigrants to this country, as well as the other restrictive measures that followed.

The Canada we know today would not exist were it not for the efforts of the Chinese labourers who began to arrive in the mid-nineteenth century.

Almost exclusively young men, these immigrants made the difficult decision to leave their families behind in order to pursue opportunities in a country halfway around the world they called “gold mountain.”

Beginning in 1881, over 15,000 of these Chinese pioneers became involved in the most important nation-building enterprise in Canadian history – the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway.

From the shores of the St. Lawrence, across the seemingly endless expanses of shield and prairie, climbing the majestic Rockies, and cutting through the rugged terrain of British Columbia,

– This transcontinental link was the ribbon of steel that bound our fledgling country together.

It was an engineering feat –one for which the back-breaking toil of Chinese labourers was largely responsible-

– That was instrumental to the settlement of the West and the subsequent development of the Canadian economy.

The conditions under which these men worked were at best harsh, and at times impossible: tragically, some one thousand Chinese labourers died building the CPR.

But in spite of it all, these Chinese immigrants persevered, and in doing so, helped to ensure the future of Canada.

But from the moment that the railway was completed, Canada turned its back on these men.

Beginning with the Chinese Immigration Act of 1885, a head tax of $50 was imposed on Chinese newcomers in an attempt to deter immigration.

Not content with the tax’s effect, the government subsequently raised the amount to $100 in 1900, and then to $500 – the equivalent of two years’ wages – in 1903.

This tax remained in place until 1923, when the government amended the Chinese Immigration Act and effectively banned most Chinese immigrants until 1947.

Similar legislation existed in the Dominion of Newfoundland, which also imposed a head tax between 1906 and 1949, when Newfoundland joined Confederation.

The Government of Canada recognizes the stigma and exclusion experienced by the Chinese as a result.

We acknowledge the high cost of the head tax meant many family members were left behind in China, never to be reunited, or that families lived apart and, in some cases, in poverty, for many years.

We also recognize that our failure to truly acknowledge these historical injustices has led many in the community from seeing themselves as fully Canadian.

Therefore, Mr. Speaker, 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.

Gar nar dai doe heem.

This apology is not about liability today: it is about reconciliation with those who endured such hardship, and the broader Chinese-Canadian community,

– One that continues to make such an invaluable contribution to our great country.

And while Canadian courts have ruled that the head tax, and immigration prohibition, were legally authorized, we fully accept the moral responsibility to acknowledge these shameful polices of our past.

For over six decades, these race-based financial measures, aimed solely at the Chinese, were implemented with deliberation by the Canadian state.

This was a grave injustice, and one we are morally obligated to acknowledge.

To give substantial meaning to today’s apology, the Government of Canada will offer symbolic payments to living head tax payers and living spouses of deceased payers.

In addition, we will establish funds to help finance community projects aimed at acknowledging the impact of past wartime measures and immigration restrictions on ethno-cultural communities.

No country is perfect. Like all countries, Canada has made mistakes in its past, and we realize that.

Canadians, however, are a good and just people, acting when we’ve committed wrong.

And even though the head tax – a product of a profoundly different time -- lies far in our past, we feel compelled to right this historic wrong for the simple reason that it is the decent thing to do, a characteristic to be found at the core of the Canadian soul.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, let me assure the House that this government will continually strive to ensure that similar unjust practices are never allowed to happen again.

We have the collective responsibility to build a country based firmly on the notion of equality of opportunity, regardless of one’s race or ethnic origin.

Our deep sorrow over the racist actions of our past will nourish our unwavering commitment to build a better future for all Canadians.

Thank you.

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News Release

From the Prime Minister's Web Site (http://www.pm.gc.ca/)

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Prime Minister announces contribution to the Captain Nichola K.S. Goddard Memorial Graduate Scholarship

June 22, 2006
Ottawa, Ontario

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced that Canada’s new government will be contributing $25,000 to the Captain Nichola K. S. Goddard Memorial Graduate Scholarship, at the University of Calgary.

“It is with great pleasure and honour that this contribution be made to such a deserving and admirable cause. This scholarship will benefit many, and I hope it encourages others to donate,” said the Prime Minister.

“After meeting with the Goddard family and understanding their great loss, the idea of a scholarship program is undoubtedly a wonderful tribute to their daughter. While their loss is tragic, something positive and beneficial has come out of this disheartening situation,” said Minister Prentice.

This scholarship program was created by her family to honour and celebrate her life. Captain Goddard was killed in action on May 17th, 2006 while serving in Afghanistan. She was a member of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, based in Shilo, Manitoba.

“The family thanks Prime Minister Stephen Harper as well as the many other Canadians who have made generous donations to this endowment,” said Tim Goddard, Captain Goddard’s father.

The scholarship is open to graduate students attending the University of Calgary who are citizens of Papua New Guinea, Captain Goddard’s place of birth, as well as citizens of Afghanistan, the place of her death. The scholarship is also extended to Canada’s First Nations, Inuit or Métis people, with whom Captain Goddard spent many of her formative years. The scholarship will be awarded annually; the first of which will commence in the fall of 2007.

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Notice

From the Prime Minister's Web Site (http://www.pm.gc.ca/)

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Public events for June 22, 2006

June 22, 2006
Ottawa, Ontario

Public events for Prime Minister Stephen Harper for Thursday, June 22nd are:

3:15 pm – Prime Minister Stephen Harper will, in a Ministerial Statement in the House of Commons, formally apologize, on behalf of the Government of Canada, for the Chinese Head Tax.

4:15 pm - Prime Minister Harper will host a reception for members of the Chinese Community, Head tax payers, and their families.

Railway Room
253-D, Centre Block

• Open to media

4:35 pm – Prime Minister Stephen Harper will present a signed certificate to James Pon.

• Photo-op only

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