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>

Charter challenged

Letter to Pierre Trudeau from Margaret Mitchell

In theory, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which was adopted in 1982, guarantees all Canadians equality before the law. Section 15 of the Charter is specific in its content that: “Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.”

This gave rise to the first Charter challenge to the Government of Canada on its handling of discriminatory laws against Chinese, and a demand for financial compensation, plus interest, for the head tax (see interview with Mary Eberts). But the campaign for redress had begun years before this 1999 court challenge.

Inspired by the enactment of the Charter, in 1983, two elderly Chinese head tax payers, Dak Leon Mark and Shack Yee, approached their Member of Parliament Margaret Mitchell (Vancouver East) to ask for assistance in getting a refund and redress for the $500 head tax they both paid to enter Canada.

Mr. Mark, also known as Mark Aik Liang, had proof of payment with the head tax certificate he was given as a receipt, and additional citizenship paper, that he provided to Ms. Mitchell to be included in a letter dated Sept. 6, 1983, to then Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau . Mr. Yee, on the other hand, paid the head tax when he landed in Canada in 1918 as a 15 year old. He washed dishes to earn his keep and also worked as a waiter and cook in cafes in Saskatchewan and Manitoba before retiring to Vancouver. At some point, Mr. Yee found a wife in China and they had a son, but because of the exclusion laws in Canada at the time they were unable to bring him here. His son went on to raise his own family, and Mr. Yee had tried to sponsor his grandson to immigrate, but was turned down. Both men asked Ms. Mitchell to help them recover their costs, plus interest, as well as try to sort out Mr. Yee’s immigration problem.


CCNC launches campaign

In February, 1984, Ms. Mitchell raised the issue in the House of Commons, sparking a campaign by the Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC) to survey the community and demand an apology and redress for the effects of the Chinese Immigration Acts. More than 4,000 head tax payers, their spouses and descendants registered with CCNC and its partners across Canada to lobby the federal government on their behalf.

 

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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