VANCOUVER—Ottawa is reaching out to youth and the Chinese community in order to increase understanding of the impact of Canada’s discriminatory policies toward Chinese immigrants in the first half of the 20th century.
"The Head Tax and other immigration restrictions that affected Chinese-Canadians are an unfortunate chapter in our history and deserve recognition," said Parliamentary Secretary Alice Wong in a press release.
To honour the contributions of Chinese-Canadians and to raise awareness of the notorious Head Tax and other policies that limited Chinese immigration between 1885 and 1947, the government launched four projects announced last week by Dr. Wong on behalf of Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.
The projects will also seek to honour the work of those who challenged discrimination and sought redress.
Four institutions will deliver the projects funded under the government’s Community Historical Recognition Program (CHRP). Simon Fraser University (SFU) will receive $200,000, while the University of British Columbia, the Metro Toronto Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic, and the Toronto Community and Culture Centre will each receive $50,000.
“Underneath the Head Tax, there are some important issues including inclusiveness, democracy, and participation,” said Rick Walker, SFU’s Learning and Instructional Development Centre (LIDC) video producer and project coordinator.
“[The project] will examine the impact of the Head Tax on Canadian culture in relation to other restrictive immigration policies. It’s going to look at it from a historical perspective, but also a broader perspective, such as its relevance to today.”
Tentatively entitled Reconciliation Day, the LIDC multi-media project will include a modular DVD, documentaries, online historical photographs, archival documents, and a learning package, which include a teacher’s guide, copies of propaganda posters, head-tax certificates, and biographies.
A master video documentary will be created from the video material for educational screenings and broadcast purposes.
“When we look at the Head Tax, we won’t just say, ‘this is injustice, this terrible thing has been done.’ We want to think that that’s part of our history—why is it so important now, what were people excluded by. I want to put it in context to the evolution of our culture,” said Walker.
After the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885, various government officials pressured Ottawa to discourage Chinese immigration a time when labourers were no longer needed.
Between 1885 and 1923, the federal government collected $23 million from an estimated 81,000 Chinese, each paying between $50 and $500.
In June 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper made a full apology to Chinese-Canadians for the Head Tax, saying such racism is contradictory to the values that Canadians hold today.
To compensate, the government made individual payments of $20,000 to living Chinese Head Tax payers and to living spouses of deceased payers, totaling $3.2 million.
“History is a living thing, rather than an event that has happened in the past. Things in the past affect things happening now, and there’s a relationship between the two,” Walker said.
The project is expected to be unveiled next spring, and will enter the high school curriculum during 2010-2011 if approved by the Ministry of Education.
Upon its completion, SFU will distribute 100 DVD packages to 95 public secondary schools and five private schools in Metro Vancouver as a trial. The video documentary will also be aired on Fairchild TV.
The Vancouver and Surrey school boards and the Vancouver Public Library have provided support for the project. VPL has a comprehensive database on the project at www.vpl.ca/ccg/