Canada’s apology to the Chinese community for the head tax from 1885 to 1923 was not enough, say descendants of those who paid the tax.
Ottawa said sorry to the Chinese community four years ago and gave $20,000 to those who had paid the head tax or to their surviving spouse.
But members of the Head Tax Families Society of Canada say the federal government excluded thousands of Chinese families who were affected by the historic injustices and Ottawa should rethink its approach to redress.
The children of those who paid the tax but did not live long enough to hear the apology received nothing and still feel left out, Sid Tan, head of the Head Tax Families Society of Canada, said Wednesday in an interview on the day before a “redress rally” planned for Vancouver’s Chinatown.
“The apology was not as meaningful to us as it was to other [Chinese families],” said Mr. Tan, the grandson of a head tax payer. “The federal government left out a large chunk of people and you have to find some way you can meaningfully provide redress for them.”
The federal government acknowledged less than one per cent of families who had paid the head tax, he said. Payments were made to about 800 people although more than 82,000 Chinese immigrants paid the tax from 1885 to 1923.
The rally on Canada Day is intended as a celebration of being Canadian while reminding the federal government that the issue is not closed, Mr. Tan said.
Victor Wong, executive director of the Chinese Canadian National Council, an umbrella group with 27 chapters across the country, said 3,000 families across Canada are still seeking to be included in the apology and payment that was made in 2006.
His grandfather, who immigrated to Canada in 1912, could not bring his wife and four children until 1947, he said. Mr. Wong said he is the family’s first Canadian-born grandson, born 47 years after his grandfather arrived on the West Coast. “Family formation was discouraged,” he said.
Redress that included the children of those who felt the impact of the discriminatory policies would set the tone for governments, prodding them to ensure that policies and programs are sensitive to the needs of minorities.
“For an apology to be meaningful, it needs to include [the children of head tax payers],” said Mr. Wong
