The Hongcouver | A sorry saga: Why an apology won’t erase legacy of Canada’s racist tax on Chinese
If British Columbia’s government thought its apology for the discriminatory “head tax” imposed on Chinese immigrants would lay the issue to rest, activist Sid Chow Tan wants it to think again.
If British Columbia’s government thought its apology last week for the discriminatory “head tax” and other racist legislation once imposed on Chinese immigrants would lay the issue to rest, veteran activist Sid Chow Tan wants it to think again.
“This is more about vote pandering and photo ops than it is about justice and honour for pioneer Chinese families,” said Tan, whose grandfather, Chow Gim Tan, was among those forced to pay the tax when he arrived in Canada in 1919.
The notorious head tax was imposed by Canada’s government on tens of thousands of Chinese arrivals for nearly 40 years. The per-person tax was C$50 when it was introduced in 1885, rising to C$500 in 1903. That was equivalent to about two years’ wages for a Chinese labourer.
The tax was abolished in 1923, when it was rendered obsolete by the more-draconian Chinese Exclusion Act, which placed a near-total ban on Chinese migration to Canada until 1947.
BC’s provincial treasury is estimated to have received about C$9 million in head tax revenue.