B.C. apology to Chinese community off to rocky start


When Sid Chow Tan heard about the B.C. Liberal government’s plan for a formal apology to the Chinese community for historical wrongs, he described it as “quite concerning”.


Tan, a founding director of the Head Tax Families Society of Canada, is critical of the government’s position that it won’t consider financial compensation to go with the apology.

“When they offer no financial redress, what the government of British Columbia is saying is that they can profit from racism,” Tan told the Straight by phone from Vancouver.

On October 29, the provincial government announced that Teresa Wat, the minister responsible for multiculturalism, will lead a consultation process to develop the wording of the apology. The government plans to introduce a motion of apology during the next sitting.

From 1885 to 1923, the federal Chinese Immigration Act levied a head tax of $50 to $500 on all Chinese immigrants to Canada. The Chinese Exclusion Act almost entirely banned Chinese immigration between 1923 and 1947. The provincial government also brought in multiple pieces of anti-Asian legislation.

According to Tan, $8.5 million of the $23 million in total head-tax revenue went to the B.C. government. As well, the exclusion act kept many families apart for years.

Tan asserted that the $8.5-million “tax grab” (worth more than $800 million today) should be “symbolically returned” to families that suffered hardship. He noted that at least 2,500 families in B.C. are seeking “direct, individual redress”—which he likened to a “tax refund”.

In 2006, Tan and his family rejected the federal government’s apology to Chinese Canadians because children of deceased head-tax payers were excluded from compensation. He said he doesn’t want to see the province take a similarly “arrogant and dismissive” approach to the issue.

“We want justice and honour,” Tan said. “We want healing and reconciliation. That’s what this should do—not politics.”

Wat didn’t grant the Straight an interview by deadline.

Comments (20) Add New Comment
Sid Tan
This is disrespectful to surviving affected elderly seniors who suffered the brunt of exclusion which is much more insidious than head tax. Separated families for decades.

The BC Government's message has rigged the framework of consultations so the treasury can remain unjustly enriched by racism. Is this the way to start a public consultation?

This is not a historical injustice. There are still affected elderly seniors alive who suffered under exclusion. They should be the priority of the initiative and apology.

An apology, to my understanding, is an acknowledgement of wrong doing, be redemptive to the giver, healing to the recipient and be about restorative justice.
Rating: +20
Victor Wong
The Government should not be seen to be profiting from racism.

The "no financial redress" terms of reference are disrespectful to our seniors.

And it may be harmful to BC - China relations. When you are disrespectful to the Chinese seniors, you are by extension disrespectful to the Chinese people.

We know the Premier wants to develop positive relations with China. But given their lack of respect, the Chinese government and Chinese investors should perhaps think twice before signing any major agreements with the BC Government.
Rating: +16
People are not stupid, we are know this is another of Christy's "quickwins". So disrespectful.
Rating: +25
Jack Jones
"suffered the brunt of exclusion"? Why not go and sue your original government in China for creating living conditions so deplorable that the citizens were willing to pay high fees to move to another country? I don't recall any immigrants being brought to Canada by force. There was a price to immigrate here, and many obviously felt that the price was fair - or at least better than the alternative of remaining in their own country. What does the Chinese government charge Canadians today that want to emigrate there? It's not free whatever the cost.

So tired of the endless whining and hands being held out for financial compensation for something that happened a hundred years ago.
Rating: -33
Victor Wong

People from all over the globe leave oppressive regimes behind. They shouldnt have to face racist policies in their new adopted lands. The irony was that Chinese labour was welcomed at first but politicians soon found that anti-Chinese sentiment and legislation to be an effective electoral tool.

China does not have an immgration policy per se but Canadians are more than welcome to live and work there. About 200,000+ Canadians live and work in Hong Kong and China at present.

Finally a complete redress allows us to move forward. Without redress, there remains barriers to reconciliation. As for the funds...well, basically they were transferred to the BC govt during the head tax era from the head tax families. It would be reasonable to expect a genuine Apology to include at least a symbolic return of the head tax monies to the affected families. The Govt should never be seen to be profiting from racism.
Rating: +24
Judy Green
I just want to warn the Chinese about our Aboriginal experience in BC: refusal to honour the relationship, the appology was hollow and contained no meaningful way forward, and the work we have done to heal ourselves, was what we needed anyways. Handouts? compare the Sandusky victims potential payout to the residential school survivors and you will be disgusted. Don't hold your breath for this type of lip sevice - it only supports the governments guilt, and brings little truth, healing and reconsiliation.
Rating: +31
Jack Jones
"They shouldnt have to face racist policies in their new adopted lands"

Agreed, and if you spot any racist policies in our government today then I encourage you to bring them to the public's attention.

But let's not forget that what was considered "racist" 100 years ago is very different from today. We can't and shouldn't be applying today's standards to policies of previous generations. Women weren't allowed to vote back then either. How much do we owe them? Japanese had their property taken and were held in camps during WW2 - how much do we owe them?

The Chinese do not have any special claim to hardships of the past. Nor do they qualify for any sort of financial compensation. Every group on earth has faced discrimination and hardships at some point in their past. How far back do we need to go?

100 years ago the policies in China were extremely restrictive against westerners. And as I mentioned above, their policies towards their own citizens were so intolerable that many escaped looking for a better life (and many found that better life here in Canada. You're welcome). What redress do westerners have against the Chinese government for their policies 100 years ago? In fact what redress do the 200,000 Canadians that live and work in China today have against racist policies? Of course it's important to note that the vast majority of those 200,000 "Canadians" living in HK and China have never actually lived in Canada nor contributed in any way to Canadian society, and are merely holding a Canadian passport for convenience. But there certainly are a number of Caucasian Canadians living in China, and they fact daily discrimination when it comes to things like joining a health club and other clubs. Do they whine about this racism that's still taking place in 2013? Not so much. They realize that they are free to leave their adopted country any time they choose.
Rating: -23
Sick & tired of hearing about this. Quit whining about shit that happened 100 years ago. Good grief,the world has more urgent concerns now in the 21st century
Rating: -33
A verbal apology is plenty to address 90 year old wrongs.

Surely the important thing is for government to be more transparent and better going forward.

If you think you can fix things that were done in the past, I guess Canada would have to un-fight Louis Riel, un-fish the Newfoundland cod, put the Avro Arrow back into production, and un-trade Wayne Gretzky.

But no, you would say, that is stupid and trite. You can't fix that. That would be, I don't know, pathetic.
Rating: -28
As human beings, we are governed by emotions, informed by science, and encouraged to practice moral action. We also look to the precedents that have given us examples of ethical and just behavior from the past. Apologies, symbolic financial offerings to individuals and communities have been granted to the First Nations, Ukrainian, Japanese, and Chinese immigrants by our federal government. It is not unreasonable to expect the same from the BC government. How far back do we go to right an injustice? As far back as it takes to recognize it and to make amends for it. How far back do we go to see how trauma affects individuals, families and a community? Generations. Jewish people, Germans, Palestinians, Irish, and people all over the world expect their leadership to recognize the nasty, racist, genocidal behaviour of regimes both past and present, and adopt more humanist policies that recognize the historic wrongs. But to be clear, it didn't cost any immigrants money to come to Canada in the past - not the europeans, japanese, americans, british, norweigans, etc. This is the stark difference between offering something to women who didn't get the vote and to a community of people who were singled out to pay an entry tax that came up to 23 million dollars before 1923. BC, Canada and the CPR profited the most, and a symbolic tax refund and apology certainly isn't going to make a dent in our provincial treasury, and in fact will reap good benefits to us all. If the province wants to balance the budget after such compensation, why not create a new "dead railway track" tax. After all, the CPR still has massive property parcels all over the province (which was given to them for free) that they sell off at huge profits when they need it. Tax the rich and give back to those whose back it was taken from.
Rating: +23
So powerful, incidentally was anyone going to mention that the head tax symbolic repayment to the survivors was given out in 2006 by the Feds?

I know that of course 2,500 families want more, but that is because human beings are governed by emotions.
Rating: -29
David Dickinson
While financial compensation would helpful in the short term for families living in poverty, perhaps it would be better if some of the compensation was dedicated to improving the long-term standard of living of Chinese families in British Columbia. For example, the government could offer Chinese students free tuition to UBC. Not only would this improve the living conditions of this disadvantaged group, but it would also help increase the proportion of Chinese students attending university in British Columbia and therefore increase their chances of escaping poverty, disease, and low life expectancy, and decrease their chances of ending up in jail.
Rating: -33
Everyone knows that China is now the world leader in human rights. That's why our provincial and federal politicians are doing business with the Chinese. In particular, our Governor General is a big fan of China and its human rights record, along with countries like Iran. Perhaps an appropriate form of compensation would be for the government of Canada to provide one-way airline tickets to China so that the oppressed people will finally be free.
Rating: -30
I am ok with providing an apology and compensation after the Government of Canada makes an apology to all Canadians whom have suffered from excessive immigration from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan over the past 20 years. Canadians can no longer afford to live in their own cities, have increased difficulty getting employment due to new language requirements, have trouble communicating with neighbors and are feeling pushed out by the Mandarin elite. Once we have a truth and reconciliation process to address such disastrous impacts to Canadians and if there is money left over then we can talk to Ole Sid about something that happened over 90 years ago and perhaps squeeze the relatives of the snakeheads that brought them over to Canada for compensation.
Rating: -22
I am looking forward to the suit by the Chinese who were barred completely under the subsequent exclusion act against the Chinese Canadians who were allowed in under the head tax.

Then I am looking forward to the suit against the descendent of the person who invented lawsuits.
Rating: -26
@Jack Jones : Thanks Jack, for your eloquent reply. Lol. Well thought- out and 'interesting'. Interesting, if one needs a good laugh and just fell off the turnip truck. What, if anything, you posted is even factual accurate, guy? Here's what your diatribe said: "Sue your original government in China for creating living conditions so deplorable." -you mean European invasion and colonialism is self-induced? Or: "many obviously felt that the price was fair" - is that why the wall poetry on the Chinese immigration walls show the opposite? OR: "what was considered "racist" 100 years ago is very different from today. - really? have you read the Parliamentary debates or scholarship that, in fact, shows differently? tell me why Australia who invented the Poll Taxes abolished their own right after they were introduced saying that it was "unbecoming of a 'civilized' nation" and contrary to the "British rules of fair play"? How about the complaints of the Chinese Consul General of the time, which were repeated in the Ottawa House of Commons? OR (OR): " policies in China were extremely restrictive against westerners" - are you serious?? Hello, Jack, it was the British Empire that forced China to allow free flow of immigration by military might to maintain the Opium Trade for economic reasons. What part of history did you miss, pal? If you are going to come on this webpage and spew your vitriol, back with facts, not nonsense. And while you ponder the facts (not your imagination or falsehoods), this ain't Ancient History. The people who were effect live amongst us, are our neighbours, friends and co-workers, they helped pioneer this nation. We don't need your taxes to pay for the "sins of the past," I think the Chinese community paid more than their fair share. And that, i can safely say. Good day.

Rating: +20
@Truthtella -how did you get your namesake? Any relationship to the ssndwich spread Nuttella? You stereotype any entire community? Even if we accept the racist notion that recent immigrants are responsible for all the ills of your neighbourhood, which they are not - what does this have to do with the prior generations who broke their backs building this nation YOU are so lucky to be benefitting from ? Keep your racist generalizations to yourself. The community is not homogeneous. It's particularly insulting given it was the poorest classes that were forced to pay "taxes" while folks who were "merchants", teachers or students paid NOTHING, or white Chinese like Adrienne Clarkson and family came in Scot free through other arrangements.
@RUK- like you, I'm looking forward to the day we sue schools for graduating kids who have no understanding of Chinese Canadian history, of First Nations legacy in this country. Do you have funds to defend yourself? You don't seem to Get It- Chinese BACK THEN. didn't getvto keep a cent of their property, it was handed to govt which profitted from racism. Today, business immigrants keep what the mskevor invest. hello.
@ Karin-- you're partly correct. Not only have "ethnic" groups been redressed, prior Liberal govts were only too eager to redress the WHITE claims of WW II vets, mariners etc but never those of Chinese-- many who fought for the chance denied to defend this country so that folks like Jack, RUK, and Truthtella could spend their time spreading their "opinions, along with their morning Nuttella. AND while Chinese were being extorted large sums, Canadian govts were GIVING free land to Europeans to ensure the west remained White. How is that for the greatest injustice and social engineering?????
Rating: +19
Ok, so no one is going to address the fact that the head tax symbolic repayment was already given out? Good to know.
Rating: -17
Victor Wong
RUK asked about "the head tax symbolic repayment was already given out?"

There was a partial redress in 2006. The Harper govt offered a Parliamentary Apology, symbolic financial redress in the form of $20,000 ex gratia payments to living head tax payers and surviving spouses (of deceased payers) and a community education fund.

The redress was "partial" because the families of deceased payers and deceased spouses were excluded - about 3000 head tax families.

And there is a mechanism to redress these families.

There were 785 ex gratia paymenets approved and a handful - about 50 payments - went to the families of applicants who passed away during the application process.

The issue then becomes a political decision.

The BC Govt announced a consultation on the provincial Apology. We have been pushing for this since 2006 when we wrote to the Campbell Govt but recd no response. The BC Govt recd at first 1/4 of the head tax levies and then one-half, about $8.5 million out of the $23 million collected, a sum worth between $800 million to $1.2 billion in equivalent labour income. These funds remain on the accounts of the Govt - see Auditors statements for the head tax/ exclusion act period (1885-1947).

Who should the funds be returned to? and how much? is of course up for discussion. One opinion is to direct a symbolic amount to the families who did not receive the federal ex gratia payment to complete the redress camapign and begin the reconciiation process in earnest.

An equivalent campaign would be the Hep-C compensation campaign - there was an initial settlement by the Chretien Govt, it was too narrow and the Martin Govt promised to expand it, finally the Harper Govt came through and completed it. Another example would be the treaty negotiations: the Govt often begins by refusing to offer any land - even land occupied by the First Nation, leading to years, decades of conflict, negotiation, then resolution.

I hope that this helps to explain things.
Rating: +10
If the BC government excludes financial compensation for the 2500 Chinese families excluded from the federal redress package, then it would be unthinkable for the families to use the same social activist tactics as was used against the Pidgin Restaurant recently.

Instead, an education campaign would be a more productive pursuit since that would open a lot of minds which have been closed to history due to ignorance outside the Chinese community.

What that means is people will have to get along with each other, rather than this them vs us mentality that appears when we think they are beneath us.

Please do not let it descend into that again.

We need to be united, and ignore class and bridge the gap between the haves and the have nots.

Otherwise, your tomorrows will be interesting indeed.
Rating: -1
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