The Honourable Mr. Justice Randall Sun-Kue (Bud) Wong is the first Chinese Canadian to become a federally appointed judge in Canada. By March 31, 2008, the Government of Canada had identified 785 surviving head tax payers and their spouses and paid them each $20,000 as compensation. Prime Minister Stephen Harper makes an official apology in the House of Commons to Chinese Canadians for more than six decades of legislated racism against them through the <i>Head Tax and Exclusion Act</i>. Ontario Superior Court justice dismisses a class action asking for compensation for the <i>Head Tax and Exclusion Act</i>, but also states that the Government of Canada has a moral obligation to redress Chinese Canadians. The Chinese Canadian National Council surveys the Chinese Canadian community and registers more than 4,000 head tax payers, their spouses and descendants and launches a campaign for an apology and redress. The Chinese Canadian National Council surveys the Chinese Canadian community and registers more than 4,000 head tax payers, their spouses and descendants and launches a campaign for an apology and redress. Two elderly Chinese head tax payers, Dak Leon Mark and Shack Yee, meet with MP Margaret Mitchell (Vancouver East) and ask for help in getting a refund and redress for the $500 head tax they both paid to enter Canada. With the proclamation of the <i>Charter of Rights</i> and Freedoms, the fundamental rights of all people in Canada are entrenched in our Constitution. The Chinese Canadian National Council forms as part of the community's response to gross misrepresentation in a national news report. Chinese Canadian lawyer Kew Dock Yip teams up with Jewish civil rights lawyer Irving Himel to repeal the <i>Chinese Exclusion Act</i>. Kew Dock Yip, a son of Vancouver merchant Yip Sang, is called to the Ontario Bar, becoming the first Chinese Canadian lawyer. The <i>Chinese Exclusion Act</i> comes into force on Dominion Day in 1923. The <i>Chinese Exclusion Act</i> comes into force on Dominion Day in 1923. Further amendments to the <i>Chinese Immigration Act</i> quintuple the head tax on Chinese to $500 to discourage individual and family settlement in Canada. Amendments to the <i>Chinese Immigration Act</i> double the head tax on Chinese immigrants to $100. The federal government assigns the Royal Commission on Chinese Immigration and later levies a $50 head tax on all Chinese immigrants. The federal government assigns the Royal Commission on Chinese Immigration and later levies a $50 head tax on all Chinese immigrants. Further amendments to the <i>Chinese Immigration Act</i> quintuple the head tax on Chinese to $500 to discourage individual and family settlement in Canada. The driving of the 'last spike' into a railway tie at Craigellachie, B.C., marks the completion of the mainline of the CPR and connects Canada to British Columbia. Thousands of Chinese are recruited by the Canadian Pacific Railway to build the western section of the transcontinental railroad through the Rocky Mountains. Thousands of Chinese are recruited by the Canadian Pacific Railway to build the western section of the transcontinental railroad through the Rocky Mountains. The Fraser Valley Gold Rush in British Columbia attracts the first major migration of Chinese to lands that later become Canada. Kew Dock Yip, a son of Vancouver merchant Yip Sang, is called to the Ontario Bar, becoming the first Chinese Canadian lawyer. Amendments to the <i>Chinese Immigration Act</i> double the head tax on Chinese immigrants to $100. The driving of the 'last spike' into a railway tie at Craigellachie, B.C., marks the completion of the mainline of the CPR and connects Canada to British Columbia. The Fraser Valley Gold Rush in British Columbia attracts the first major migration of Chinese to lands that later become Canada. Chinese Canadian lawyer Kew Dock Yip teams up with Jewish civil rights lawyer Irving Himel to repeal the <i>Chinese Exclusion Act</i>. The Chinese Canadian National Council forms as part of the community's response to gross misrepresentation in a national news report. Prime Minister Stephen Harper makes an official apology in the House of Commons to Chinese Canadians for more than six decades of legislated racism against them through the <i>Head Tax and Exclusion Act</i>. Justice Linda Lee Oland of Nova Scotia becomes the first Chinese Canadian to be appointed to the Court of Appeal anywhere in Canada. James Feng becomes the first Chinese lawyer born outside of Canada to be named to the Quebec Bar. Michael Yiu-Hee Chan is believed to be the first lawyer of Chinese descent to be called to the Saskatchewan Bar when he was admitted on March 25, 1966. James Mah Ming of Ponoka, Alberta, becomes the first Albertan of Chinese descent to be called to the Alberta Bar. On June 10, 1957, lawyer Douglas Jung becomes the first Chinese Canadian elected as a Member of Parliament for the riding of Vancouver Centre. British Columbia calls Margaret Gee to its Bar in 1955, making her the first Chinese Canadian woman to become a lawyer in the province. Andy Joe becomes the first Chinese Canadian to work as a lawyer in British Columbia, when he is called to the Bar in 1953. Gretta Wong Grant of London, Ontario, is the first Chinese Canadian woman to become a lawyer, when she is called to the Ontario Bar in 1946. Ms. Wong Grant set up the first Legal Aid Office in London.

Andy Joe

British Columbia admitted its first Chinese Canadian lawyer in 1953, when Andy Joe was called to the province’s law society. Born in Victoria in 1926, Joe grew up  and served during World War II in the Royal  Canadian Air Force until he was discharged in 1946.

At age 20, Joe couldn’t find a job due to lingering racism on the West Coast. “He rode his bicycle to look for work and was just told over and over again, ‘We’re not hiring Chinese,’” his former law partner David Chong told the Globe and Mail newspaper [link to Globe and Mail article]. That experience prompted Joe to pursue a degree in law.

“Andy wasn’t really a lawyer’s lawyer, he was a people’s lawyer,” Chong tells Road to Justice in an interview. “He would often do work and not charge for it, or forget to charge for it.”

Joe also had a reputation for fighting City Hall when there was a perception that the  rights of Vancouver Chinatown’s citizens were being trampled on. In one famous local case, he took on a shipping company that had refused to pay some Hong Kong crew who became his clients. “At one point, Mr. Joe had the whole Port of Vancouver tied up for weeks, because a ship had not paid its crew, I believe,” Chong recalls.

Early Chinese Worker Militancy in BC: Excavating Narratives of Resistance
The “last spike” has been found!
10 Year Anniversary of Parliamentary Apology
Road to Justice Travelling Exhibit Launched at Toronto City Hall
Canadian Government clawed back community fund to commemorate Chinese Head Tax and Exclusion Act
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