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. 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>. Living head tax payers, their surviving spouses and families board the 'Redress Express' train, from Vancouver bound for Ottawa, to hear the Prime Minister's official apology for the head tax and <i>Exclusion Act.</i> Prime Minister Brian Mulroney apologizes to Japanese Canadians for past injustices against them, their families and their heritage related to their internment during World War II. Canada's first Chinese Canadian Member of Parliament, Douglas Jung, introduces the so-called 'Amnesty' program that allows thousands of formerly illegal immigrants from China to regularize their status in Canada with the immigration department. 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. Living head tax payers, their surviving spouses and families board the 'Redress Express' train, from Vancouver bound for Ottawa, to hear the Prime Minister's official apology for the head tax and <i>Exclusion Act.</i>

Redress incomplete?

By March 31, 2008, the Government of Canada had made symbolic payments to a total of 785 head tax payers or their surviving spouses; of those, fewer than 100 were head tax payers.

Backing up the official apology, the government made ex gratia payments of $20,000 each to head tax payers and their surviving spouses. Those who had not survived to hear the apology, or their descendants, were not compensated.

The government allocated $5 million to a redress fund for the Chinese Canadian community under the Community Historical Recognition Program (CHRP) to help ensure all Canadians learn about their country’s history, including those dark chapters of exclusion of particular minority groups.

For the head tax payers and widows who did not live long enough to see justice done, and for many of their descendants who fought for recognition of their own suffering caused by the racist laws of the past, the official apology and compensation may be seen as “too little, too late.”  In particular, some of the elderly sons and daughters of head tax payers have been continuing with the redress campaign, and emphasizing that they too were separated for decades from their fathers, and therefore suffered as direct victims of these racist laws.


Reconciliation: an Ongoing Journey

The Parliamentary Apology for the Head Tax and Exclusion Act represents an important milestone in the development of Chinese Canadian community, but the community’s journey to justice and full equality did not end there.

Canada as a nation has yet to fully come to terms with its colonial and racist past.  While today there are more comprehensive constitutional and human rights protections deterring discrimination against racialized communities, racism remains a reality for many racialized communities.

Full reconciliation between Canada on the one hand and its First Peoples and minority citizens on the other, is key to achieving justice and equality for all.   Ongoing community efforts to recognize the historical contribution of Chinese Canadians in the building of our nation are a critical piece in this reconciliation. See New Westminster’s reconciliation report.

Canadians must learn from the past in order not to repeat the same mistakes in the future.

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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