Category Archives: Chinese Head Tax issues + Gim Wong's Ride for Redress

Polygamy and Head Tax: what's the point? Only 0.7% of head tax certificates are being recognized anyways!

Polygamy and Head Tax: what's the point?  Only 0.5% of head tax certificates are being recognized anyways!



(revised Feb 13, 11:30pm)

The Vancouver Sun, today on Monday February 12th, published an alarmist story Polygamy warning issued on head tax: Federal government told redress program might raise 'huge' legal issues
about a non-issue regarding the possibility of multiple claimants as
surviving spouses of head tax payers.  It was a front page
headline on page A1. 

This is a 'huge' non-story because
99.95% of the 81,000 head tax payers from 1885 to 1923 are already
dead.  Only 44 head tax survivors applied for the $20,000
ex-gratia payment.  Only 337 widowed spouses have applied for the
ex-gratia payment.  The government is still REFUSING to recognize
any head tax certificates where both payer and spouses are predeceased,
even if there are surviving sons or daughters.  Less than 1% of
the 81,000 head tax payments are being recognized – only half a percent – 0.5%!

Who
really cares if one dead head tax payer had 2 or 3 wives?  The
chances of more than one being still alive is less than any of the
original head tax certificates being honoured.   We should be
thankful that anybody is still alive at this late point.  And the
government will still only honour one payment per certificate, so
what's the point of the article – other than being alarmist?

Blame the head tax for imposing the high costs that kept families
apart, or for making it a financial hardship to bring a wife to
Canada.  Blame the Chinese Exclusion Act from 1923 to 1947 for
driving married men to start up a new family in Canada, or remain a
bachelor for the rest of their life because of the scarcity of Chinese
women.

Who really cares if Chinese men had 2 or 3 wives, the Canadian
government at the time believed that Chinese would not make good
citizens, would not contribute to the development of Canadian society,
would not stay to live in Canada… and consequently the Canadian
government would not grant naturalization or full citizenship rights
nor even voting privileges to Canadians born in Canada of Chinese
ancestry.

I personally know of stories where families became separated because of
the head tax and Exclusion Act, then believed each other dead or
missing because of loss of communication because of both civil war in
China, and WW2.  The husbands re-married in Canada, resulting in a
second wife.  This is NOT polygamy.

When families were later rediscovered and/or reunited after the war –
the existence of another family caused great anguish to the wives and
families.  It even drove some wives to suicide – both in China and
Canada.

The real story is that:

1)  The government has trouble reconciling justice without
admitting it was previously wrong, and continuing to deny true justice
for Chinese head tax payers, spouses and descendants – short of giving
a refund for a wrongful and a racially discriminating tax.

2) 
The government didn't know how to recognize a “full apology,” give
symbolic compensation to surviving head tax payers and spouses, without
being seen as unfair to descendants whose head tax paying parents and
grandparents are pre-deceased.   

3)  The government continues NOT to consult and negotiate with
actual head tax descendants such as they did with actual
Japanese-Canadian internment survivors for the historic 1988 Japanese
Canadian redress

4)  The government monitors the Chinese language media in an
effort to appeal to the Chinese language immigrant vote, to be seen as
“multicultural.” They see the immigrant Chinese language voting group
as more important than English speaking, born in Canada, head tax
descendants.

Activist groups such as the Chinese Canadian National Council
and the BC Coalition of Head Tax Payers and Familes, said “One payment
for each certificate.”  Event though 99.95% of the original head
tax payers are already dead, both the present and past governments do
not want to to incur a potentially expensive redress to descendants.

But head tax activists are only asking for symbolic but fair
redress.  How can you give a payment to some people but say no to
others by saying “Sorry, your parents and grandparents are already
dead.  Too bad they couldn't survive long enough after unfair and
racist laws made extreme hardships for them.”

My paternal
grandfather had a total of 6 wives, of whom my paternal grandmother is
wife #5.  He came to Canada at age 16, around 1882.  He would
have married his wives during his visits back in China, or in
absentia.  In those days, if you were wealthy you could afford
multiple wives or concubines – especially if wives #1, #2, #3, and #4 didn't
give you any children.  Because my grandfather was living in Canada,
and his wives were in China, he wouldn't have been properly able to
look after them, while he tried to raise money to pay the head tax to
bring them to Canada. We don't know what happened to wives #1,
#2, #3 or #4.   But grandfather did bring wives #5 and #6 to
Canada.  And he would have had to pay the head tax for each of his
wives, and the money would have gone into the Canadian governmnent's
bank account because there was no income tax in those days.

I
was told that my grandmother, wife #5, was the only one to have her
marriage recognized in Canada.  She was the one that lived with
grandfather through his last years in their tiny appartment in
Strathcona, on the edge of Chinatown.  He died in 1964, and she
died in 1968. 

If grandfather had survived to see head
tax redress in 2006, he would have been 140 years old.  Grandma
died when she was 73, if she was still alive in 2006 she would have
been 111.  My point is that head tax redress came too late for the
head tax payers and their spouses.  Every certificate should be
honoured.  If the original payer or spouse is predeceased, the
symbolic ex-gratia payment should be given to their descendants.

The
Chinese protested when the first head tax of $50 was levied in
1895, and they protested when it was raised to $500, and again they
protested when the “Chinese Exclusion Act” was created in 1923. 
After WW2, returning Chinese Canadians who fought for Canada, were able
to gain the voting franchise for Canadians born of Chinese ancestry in
1947.  As well, the “Chinese Immigration Act” known as the
“Chinese Exclusion Act” was repealed.

In
1984, the first head tax redress campaign was launched when an elderly
man went to his MP, Margaret Mitchell, to ask for help in reclaiming
the head tax money.  In 1988, the Mulroney Conservative government
apologized and gave redress for the internment of Japanese-Canadians
and the confiscation of their property.  However, despite
discussions about Chinese head tax redress, subsequent Canadian
governments refused to bring a closure to 62 years of legislated racism.

Finally on June 22, 2006, Conservative Prime Minister Harper offered an apology for Chinese Head Tax,
and expressed his “deepest sorrow” (but no apology) for the Chinese
Exclusion Act, while promising to give symbolic individual payments of
$20,000 to living Chinese Head Tax payers and living spouses of
deceased payers. 

Meanwhile, a possible 381 head tax
certificates are recognized while an estimated 80,600 are
ignored?  This is not fair recognition!

And now… a
non-story about possible multiple surviving wives making the same
claims on a possible head tax certificate gets a front page story in
the Vancouver Sun?

Contrast this non-news item with the very real news of  Head Tax Payer Charlie Quan receiving the first head tax – The Vancouver Sun buried the picture and story on page B8, and ran a self-congratulatory front page on their list of 100 Influential Chinese Canadians in BC 
which was criticized by prominent community leaders for whom the list
left out, while including people of Chinese ancestry who most likely
weren't Canadian citizens if they've only been in Canada for 1
year.  Isn't the definition of a Chinese-Canadian somebody who is
actually born in Canada? or a Canadian citizen of Chinese ancestry?

Anyways… this latest non-story.

Government warned of legal problems from head tax
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=a59347f2-
acbc-4365-8ef4-e65119945e11&k=34946

Polygamy warning issued on head tax: Federal government told redress program might raise 'huge' legal issues

The Vancouver Sun, 12 Feb 2007
Dateline: OTTAWA
Byline: Peter O'Neil

OTTAWA
— The Conservative government, which last year announced a Chinese
head tax redress program, had earlier received internal warnings that
the initiative might raise “huge” legal problems and possibly risk
offending community members over the issue of polygamy, The Vancouver
Sun has learned.
“On the issue of Chinese spouses, we risk offending
the community by 'exposing' the whole polygamy question,” stated an
unsigned Canadian Heritage briefing note prepared in early 2006. It was
obtained through the Access to Information Act by researcher Ken Rubin.
“In
fact, this will be a failure in the eyes of the community and will be
seen as a perpetuation of a 'wrong today' unless we can develop an
approach which treats all forms of spouses in a dignified and gracious
manner and which recognizes their experience without unduly exposing
the whole issue of polygamous unions or 'non-legal' marriages.”
The
briefing note added: “Of course, this does not address the bigger
question of Charter 'retroactivity' which, as you know, we believe is a
'HUGE' issue.”
The warning referred to concerns that the government
could expose taxpayers to enormous costs if it provides retroactive
compensation for rights violations before the Charter of Rights'
equality provision came into force in 1985.
Another internal
document, stamped “secret” and obtained by The Sun Friday, also warned
the former Liberal cabinet on June 21, 2005, that redress for
Chinese-Canadians would “increase substantially” the Canadian
government's exposure to legal action from numerous ethnic minority
groups seeking compensation for racial injustices.
Prime Minister
Stephen Harper apologized last June to Chinese-Canadians and promised
$20,000 payments to surviving head tax payers or the spouses of
deceased head tax payers to recognize an historical injustice.
Canada,
after welcoming some 15,000 Chinese labourers to help build the
Canadian Pacific Railway, imposed a $50 tax on Chinese immigrants
starting in 1885. The tax gradually rose to $500 before legislation in
1923 banned Chinese until that law was repealed in 1947.
Canadian
Heritage spokesman Len Westerberg said Friday that the legal issue was
addressed by making clear the $20,000 payments to head tax payers and
widows announced last June were “ex gratia” and voluntary.
That was
the same terminology used by the federal government in 1988 when it
provided a $422-million redress program for Japanese-Canadians and
their immediate descendants interned during the Second World War.
Westerberg,
asked about the polygamy issue raised in the documents, noted that the
payments to spouses could only go to women in “exclusive conjugal”
relationships.
The newly released documents state that many
marriages performed in China until the 1940s “were either potentially
or actually polygamous.” Most head tax payers in Canada would have
married in China, either before leaving for Canada or during a trip to
their home country, it said.
Neither Victor Wong, executive-director
of the Chinese Canadian National Council, nor former Liberal
multiculturalism minister Raymond Chan said they were aware of serious
government concerns over the possibility that more than one spouse
might claim to be the widow of the same head tax payer.
Multiculturalism
Minister Jason Kenney denounced the former government on May 5, 2006,
for relying on legal concerns as an “excuse” for not apologizing and
providing redress.
Kenney, who was then Harper's parliamentary secretary, relied on an Aug. 5, 2004 briefing note to Chan.
That
note concluded that Chinese-Canadians and other aggrieved groups would
have difficulty making a successful Charter of Rights challenge for the
same treatment that Japanese-Canadians got in 1988. The government has
always maintained that the Japanese-Canadian experience was unique.
But
the 2005 cabinet document obtained by The Sun indicates a redress
package for Chinese-Canadians would “increase substantially … the
risk of litigation by a broader field of communities seeking similar
treatment.”
One internal document said Canadians of Ukrainian,
Italian, Jewish, Indo-Canadian, German, Polish, Czech, Slovak,
Croatian, Bulgarian, Austrian, Turkish and Romanian descent could make
claims with respect to alleged mistreatment during the First and Second
World Wars. So could members of the Mennonite, Hutterite and Doukhobor
religions.
“If the government were to accept any or all of the new
redress proposals [from Chinese-Canadians and other groups], its
ability to defend the Japanese redress payments as unique and
unparalleled, and hence not subject to section 15 of the Charter, would
be undermined,” states the 2005 cabinet briefing note.
Another
internal document cited a current case before the Supreme Court of
Canada, in which five gay plaintiffs are asking for survivor pension
benefits dating back to when the Charter of Rights' equality provision
took effect in 1985.
Canadian recognition of historical injustices
pre-dating the Charter of Rights risks “adversely influencing” the
Supreme Court decision in the gay pension case, the Canadian Heritage
documents on the head tax issue warned.
It added that a head tax
redress package dating back to matters decades before the Charter took
effect “creates a further risk that a court may treat this as a legal
precedent and require the government to do so in all federal laws that
extend benefits.”
The document also warns about possible court challenges that the government's redress package is unfair.
“If
the payments are made to all spouses, then other family members may
challenge these payments on the basis that they discriminate on the
ground of family status under the Charter,” it warns.
“For example,
the head tax payer may have had children who were alive during that era
and so were more directly affected by the hardships associated with the
tax than a more recent spouse who may have no direct connection to the
harm suffered.”
Kenney said Sunday the government stands by its decision.
“The
bottom line is that lawyers can make an argument for or against any
course of action. It's up to political leaders to apply common sense,
and make principled decisions,” Kenney said in an e-mail to The Sun.
“That's what Stephen Harper did in making the apology for the Chinese head tax.”
Westerberg
said 44 applications from head tax payers have been filed, and in 37 of
those cases $20,000 cheques have already been mailed out.
Another 337 applicants from widowed spouses have been filed, he said, but those claims still haven't been processed.
The
CCNC's Wong said his group agrees with the warnings in briefing notes
that the government is being unfair to some head tax victims.
He
said his group wants the government to expand the program, at a cost of
at least $60 million, by giving $20,000 cheques to each of the 3,000
families of descendants of head tax payers.
Wong, who said Harper
has done more to advance the issue than any of his last six
predecessors, said his group has no plans to spoil current goodwill by
heading to the courts.
“There probably will not be any legal action. We'll just keep pressing the issue,” Wong said.
Patrick
Monahan, dean of the Osgoode Hall Law School at York University in
Toronto, said it's not clear if other groups will be able to use the
Chinese head tax package in court.
“I'm inclined to think that ex-gratia payments do not give rise to a legal obligation in other cases,” he said.
“But
the more such payments are made, I think the more difficult it is to
resist claims of equal treatment. So I think there is some risk
associated with that.”
poneil1@hotmail.com
– – –
COUNTING THE COST
Ottawa
used “actuarial estimates and assumptions” to calculate the number of
living head-tax payers and their descendants existing in 2006. The
multiple wives question was included, as shown below.
110 head-tax payers
229 Spouses of the era (1 wife)
458 Spouses of era (2 wives)
293 Spouses of era and present (1 wife)
586 Spouses of era and present (2 wives)
2,045 Descendants (if 1 wife/1 child)
6,135 Descendants of era
12,270 Descendants (assuming 2 wives/3 children each)
Ran with fact box “Counting the cost”, which has been appended to the end of the story.
Colour Photo: Certificate

Chinese Canadian Head Tax issue one of 2006's top events

Chinese Canadian Head Tax issue one of 2006's top events



So was it? or wasn't it?

The Chinese head tax issue made
top newsmaker in every chinese media's year end review.  But was
rarely seen in English Language media year end summaries. 

Top
Chinese-Canadian stories listed by Susanna Ng includes Head Tax redress
apology plus the resignation by Michael Chong over recognizing Quebec
as a “nation” within a united Canada.  see Susanna's
Chinese in Vancouver: Year end review  and her stories on Chinese Head Tax.

But
Chinese head tax should be more than just an “ethnic issue.” It is a
Canadian issue.  Canadian parliament charged a head tax from 1895
until 1923 when parliament creeated the “Chinese exclusion act” which
lasted until 1947.  That's 52 years of legislated racism! Oh…
plus an additional 49 years without an apology – not to mention a tax
refund.

Chinese
language media was a leading force in the head tax issue, covering it
almost  every day during the election campaign after November
25th, when 200 people protested the Liberal signing of the ACE program
– see

Chinese Head Tax: Protest in Vancouver Chinatown.


English Language media still seemed slow on this issue, often relegating it to ethnic issue side bar stories.  The first real head tax story in the Vancouver Sun was from Toronto head tax descendant Brad Lee who wrote The liberals bungle a great opportunity to do the right thing: This was followed by Daphne Bramham's Dec, 2 column
Compensate Chinese immigrants fairly:
  I didn't see an actual news story in the Vancouver Sun, until Dec 8 when
Stephen Harper and Conservatives jump on the Head Tax apology band wagon
.   


But also notable was the coverage by the Georgia Straight's Charlie Smith. Head tax unites activists,
Georgia Straight: Harper Stickhandles Redress
as well CBC Radio did a number of audience call-in shows + interviews with head tax redress activists. 

At
year end of 2005, Chinese head tax was listed in the top ten by a
number of Asian newspapers, citing it to have both importance for
Canada, as well as global importance.  Last year, this time, the
Chinese Head Tax emerged as the sleeper issue for the January 2006
Federal Election.  Three Conservative candidates broke from Stephen
Harper's former No Apology stance, to join with the NDP, Bloc Quebecois and
Green Party.  Then with the Liberals facing themselves behind the
Conservatives in polling, Liberal PM Paul Martin mumbled a so-called
personal apology about head tax on Fairchild Chinese language radio
station, but would not commit to a formal governmental apology – nor
did he repeat the same “apology” for English language media.   see:
Political debate heats up over Chinese head tax.

Then on June 22nd, the 
Head Tax Apology Ceremony

finally happened.  In the days leading up, English language media
finally got on the head tax band wagon, literally, by putting reporters
on the head tax redress train from Vancouver to Ottawa

In October, The Vancouver Sun even put together a list of 100 Influential Chinese Canadians in BC…
listing head tax activist Sid Tan.  But while the Sun made it
their lead feature on the front page, they relegated a story about
Charlie Quan receiving the first head tax redress cheque to backwater pages in the West Coast section.  Even the Globe & Mail had made it the lead story in their BC edition.

But
Head Tax redress groups say the Conservative government hasn't gone far
enough for a just an honourable redress, only honouring 0.6% of a total
81,000 head tax certificates that were issued from 1885 to 1923. 
Only surviving head tax payers and spouses will receive a $20,000
ex-gratia payment.  And it took the government months and months
to settle on the definition of a spouse, even asking that

Proof must be provided that the person was ordinarily residing with the
Head Tax Payer in a conjugal relationship of some permanence that would
be, as an indication, for at least a year.”
  see  Head Tax – Applicant's Guide


Meanwhile,
the Conservative cabinet ministers and MP's make a big photo
opportunity of presenting the ex-gratia payments to senior citizens in
the '90's, at great distress and effort on behalf of this very aged
seniors.  My own maternal grandmother is 96 years old, and is much
too weak to be trotted out for display.  And the irony is that
there will be NO ex-gratia payment for her father's head tax
certificates because he died back in the 1920's.  Any family whose
head tax paying parents or their spouses died prior to the
Conservatives reaching power in February 2006 is out of luck.  Too
bad… so sad…

Chinese-Canadian head tax redress is still burning up the blogs.  Susanna Ng has created a poll listing Top news of importance to CC society in 2006. And yes… head tax is leading the polls.

David Wong also writes about it for his year end observation the-tax-on-giving-head on his blog titiled  The Ugly Chinese Canadian and “struck a nerve” with many readers getting many comments including my own.

If
anything, the head tax redress campaign served as a wonderful history
lesson for all Canadians.  It also exposed past racism as well as
present bigotry and ignorance.

Will the Conservative government follow through on the two stage redress process proposed by the Chinese Canadian National Council, or will they stall at only honouring 0.6% of head tax certificates?

Will
the Liberals under Stephane Dion step up to the plate, eager to one-up
the Conservatives, after opening up the redress can of worms with their
appallingly underwhelming ACE program for acknowledgement,
commemoration and education of head tax redress, not even considering a
formal apology or individual compensation which the Mulroney
Conservatives did for Japanese-Canadian internment redress?

Will
the NDP, Bloc Quebecois and Green Party, continue to support individual
compensation for head tax descendants whose original payers left them
in care of the head tax certificates, hoping that one day there would
be a tax refund?

All I can say is this:
I will continue to
support head tax redress for descendants whose ancestors are
predeceased for the present Conservative ex-gratia program.
I will continue to blog and attend head tax issues and events.
I believe in social justice, and that each head tax certificate should be treated equally.

The
Chinese Year of the Dog is not over until February 18th, when the Year
of the Pig takes over.  2007 was a good year for Chinese head tax
redress.  It's been a long time since Margaret Mitchell first
raised this issue in Parliament back in 1984. 

Who would
have thought that it would take 24 years before the 1923 Chinese
Exclusion Act would repealed in 1947?  Who would have thought that
it would take until 1988, 46 years later, when the Japanese Canadian
would receive redress, after their homes and property were
“confiscated” from them from 1942 to 1945.

The Militant: Canadian Chinese call for redress over head tax

Here's an article from Dec 18th in the Militant

Canadian Chinese call for redress over head tax

I attended the Nov. 25th meeting – check my article:
   Head Tax Familes call  for Good Fatith negotiations- nearly 500 people show up

The Militant (logo)
 
   Vol. 70/No. 48   
       December 18, 2006


 
 
 
Canadian Chinese call for
redress over head tax



(front page)
 
BY STEVE PENNER
AND NED DMYTRYSHYN
 
VANCOUVER, British Columbia—Chanting, “Head tax redress,
justice now!” more than 300 people voted at a November 25 meeting to
demand compensation for every one of the 82,000 Chinese-Canadian
families forced to pay a head tax last century. Many of those attending
the event at the Chinese Cultural Center in Chinatown were in their 70s
and 80s.

The Canadian government imposed the racist head tax on all Chinese
immigrants to this country between 1885 and 1923. Initially $50, it was
raised to $100, then $500 in 1903, the equivalent of two years’ pay for
a laborer.

Frank Chan told the Militant, “People had to work for 10
to 15 years to pay off” the money they had borrowed to pay the tax. “If
they died, their family in China was still stuck with the burden of
paying the money back.”

In 1923 the Canadian government imposed the Chinese Exclusion
Act, which banned all immigration from China and remained in effect
until 1947. As a result, many of those who paid the head tax, almost
all men, were separated from their wives and children for decades.
Chinese-Canadians were also denied the right to vote and faced many
other racist laws and practices.

In June of this year, after a decades-long fight for justice by
Chinese-Canadians, Ottawa agreed to compensate about 400 surviving head
tax payers and their spouses. The Head Tax Families Society of Canada
(HTFS), which organized the November 25 meeting, noted that a bare 0.6
percent of families subjected to the head tax will be compensated.

Wayne Lee, an activist in the HTFS, said that the redress fight
is “important for today because it strengthens other struggles for
justice.”

Another activist, Ron Mah, said winning redress has been a
deeply felt issue for different generations of Chinese-Canadian
families. “I remember how as a boy our family always talked about the
need to pursue justice and how unfair the head tax was,” he said.

Vancouver city councilor David Cadman, who spoke at the
meeting, said, “Many people say this happened a long time ago. But
today in our society there are people who are still being discriminated
against.”

Several members of Parliament spoke, including New Democratic
Party (NDP) leader Jack Layton and former Liberal cabinet minister
Ujjal Donsanjh. Layton said the NDP supports the HTFS demands.

Sid Tan, a co-chair of the HTFS vowed, “We’re building a
movement of such strength” that it will “outlast the [Prime Minister
Stephen] Harper government and any other government” until justice is
achieved.

Grace Schenkeveld, English-language spokesperson for the HTFS,
presented Layton with 1,600 letters from descendants of head tax payers
and a petition demanding redress to be introduced in Parliament.

Dozens lined up to join the HTFS during the meeting. 

Cheque presentation in Toronto for surviving head tax payers.

Cheque presentation in Toronto for surviving head tax payer

The first stage for the Chinese head tax redress, of ex-gratia payments for surviving head tax payers, continued with a cheque presentation in Toronto today.

The next stage will include payments to surviving spouses of pre-deceased head tax payers.  This will include several of my maternal grandmother's sisters who live in the Toronto area.  Even though my grandmother and her 13 siblings were born in Canada, my grandmother and her sisters married men who paid the head tax and came to Canada, prior to the Chinese “Exclusion Act” of 1923.

Payments to surviving head tax payers and spouses will amount to 0.6 % of a total 81,000 head tax certificates, as many payers and spouses have long since passed away.  The government says they will not give ex-gratia payments to the estates of the head tax familes, but the Chinese Canadian National Council is asking for all head tax certificates to be treated equally.

In my own family, both of my father's parents died during the 1960's.  His father arrived in Canada at age 16, around 1882.  My father's mother arrived in Canada around 1910 at age 16, after the Chinese head tax had been raised to $500 in 1903.

Victor Wong, executive director of the Chinese Canadian National Council writes the following:

A huge turnout today at the cheque presentation.

Minister Oda presented cheques to 4 individuals who made it in person Bing Yen Tom, Betty Fong (Lee Toy Kew), Frank (Poy Fong) Lim and Gook Fung Tom (see govt news release).

Colleen, Joseph and I represented CCNC, Karen and Kristyn were there from CCNCTO, George, Susan, Har Ying, Doug, Binh and Rebecca from Ontario Coalition and many of our volunteers. We invited Jack and Maria from CCCO (CBC-Canada). I think there were 17 people present from our end and there were a handful of representatives of the Congress as well.

Some media questions (actually most) were on the issue of descendants redress. The Minister reiterated the Govt position and seemed quite firm that the door was closed.

CCNC and redress groups will continue to press the federal Government to redress all head tax families. The June 22nd redress announcement covers just over 10% of the head tax families registered with us and represents only 0.6% of all of the individuals who paid the Chinese Head Tax or Newfoundland Head Tax.

CCNC continues to work with other redress groups including the Ontario Coalition of Chinese Head Tax Payers and Families (Ontario Coalition) and Head Tax Families Society of Canada (formerly the B.C. Coalition of Head Tax Payers, Spouses and Descendants) in the campaign to redress the Chinese Head Tax and Chinese Exclusion Act.

-30-

 


Toronto-area Chinese head tax payers receive ex-gratia payments today

News Release Banner

Canada's New Government Provides ex gratia
Payments to Greater-Toronto-Area Chinese Head Tax Payers

TORONTO, December 15, 2006 – The Honourable Beverley J. Oda,
Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women, today presented redress
payments to four Toronto-area residents who paid the Chinese Head Tax. Bing
Yen Tom, Betty Fong (Lee Toy Kew), Frank (Poy Fong)
Lim and Gook Fung Tom each received a cheque for
$20,000.

“I am proud that Canada 's
New Government is continuing to fulfill its commitment to Chinese Head Tax
payers by providing these symbolic payments,” said Minister Oda.
“With the delivery of ex-gratia payments to living Head Tax payers,
we are taking one more step toward recognizing past experiences and hardships
and to contributing to healing in the Chinese Canadian community.”

On October 20, 2006, Minister Oda participated in a ceremony in
Vancouver to present
the first ex-gratia
payments. These payments follow from the official apology to Chinese
Canadians for imposition of the Head Tax, made by Prime Minister Stephen
Harper on June 22, 2006, on behalf of the Government of Canada.

On December 1, Canada 's
New Government announced that individuals who were in a conjugal relationship
with a Head-Tax payer who is now deceased may apply for ex-gratia
symbolic payments of $20,000.

The Head Tax was imposed on Chinese immigrants entering
Canada from
1885 to 1923. A similar tax existed in the Dominion of Newfoundland between
1906 and 1949, before the province entered Confederation.

Information
:


Chisholm Pothier
Director of Communication
Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women
819 997-7788

Donald Boulanger
A/ Chief, Media Relations
Canadian Heritage
819 994-9101

Georgia Straight: Head-tax redress incomplete

Georgia Straight: Head-tax redress incomplete

The federal Conservative government is only recognizing 0.6 percent of the 81,000 head tax certificates that were paid from 1895 to 1923.  They are ignoring any head tax certificates, where the head tax payers or the spouses have died prior to the Conservative government came to power in February 2006.  They will not recognize the head tax certificate that my great-grandfather Ernest Lee paid because he and his wife Kate Chan, have long since passed on.  They won't recognize the head tax certificate that my grandfather Sonny Mar's uncle paid for, because he died without leaving any survivors. 

$25 million more than paid for the $23 million cost of the Canadian Pacific Railway, for which Chinese labour built the most challenging and deadly stretches through the Fraser Canyon and the Rocky Mountains.  And the federal government will only give a $20,000 ex-gratia payment to living head tax payers or their spouses – provided they were still alive by February 2006.  If they died prior to that… too bad – so sad.  That is just plain wrong.  A head tax certificate is a valid certificate.  The government has long since recognized it was a wrongful, immoral and shameful tax, only imposed on ethnic Chinese, in a racist attempt to keep them from coming to Canada.  It was also used as a cash-cow to supplement government coffers, until the “Chinese Exclusion Act” was imposed from 1923 to 1947.

Charlie Smith writes a good article in this week's Georgia Straight:

Head-tax redress incomplete

By Charlie Smith

Ninety-nine-year-old
Charlie Quan recently received the Harper government’s head-tax
reparations, but Grace Schenkeveld’s family waits empty-handed.

When
Charlie Quan, 99, recently received a $20,000 head-tax payment from the
federal government, he decided to throw a feast. Quan is one of a
handful of people still alive who paid the $500 Chinese head tax to
come to Canada. From 1923 to 1947, the federal government banned
virtually all immigration from China, separating families for decades.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that
almost 300 head-tax-paying survivors and their spouses would each
receive symbolic payments of $20,000. Harper also issued a federal
apology but stopped short of providing direct compensation to families
of deceased head-tax payers. Ottawa will also spend $24 million for a
recognition program.

On December 3, Quan celebrated at the Quan Lung Sai Tong Association
headquarters at 164 East Hastings Street, surrounded by more than two
dozen family members and friends. Quan and others burned incense to
give thanks to the Chinese deity Kwan Kung and enjoyed a sumptuous
Chinese lunch, including a whole pig, which is a symbol of good fortune.

Quan told the Georgia Straight that Kwan Kung—the protector
of warriors, writers, and artists—gave him hope to continue pressuring
the government. “I am very satisfied, very satisfied, very satisfied,”
Quan said. “Kwan Kung helped me a lot.”

Sid Chow Tan, cochair of the Head Tax Families Society of Canada, told the Straight that the lo wah kiu (old
overseas Chinese) look upon Kwan Kung as their premier spiritual
helper, admired for his righteousness and compassion. “He is known as
the deity who will throw you a lifeline when you have nowhere else to
turn,” Tan said.

Tan noted that Quan also called upon Kwan Kung to bring justice and
honour to all head-tax families because Harper’s redress package is
incomplete. According to the ?Chinese Canadian National Council,
approximately 81,000 Chinese immigrants paid $23 million in head taxes,
which works out to about ?$1.2 billion in today’s dollars.

“The government needs to have good-faith negotiations with head-tax
families,” Tan said. “Every certificate should be treated equally.”

Grace Schenkeveld, also cochair of the Head Tax Families Society of Canada, told the Straight
that her grandfather Wong Hoy paid the $500 head tax when he came to
Canada in 1919. Schenkeveld said that her grand­parents had three
children, born at six-year intervals because it took six years for her
grandfather to save enough money to return to China to visit his wife,
who was forbidden from immigrating because of the exclusion act.

“He told us when he came to Canada he worked as a houseboy,” she
said. “He was this guy who lived in the cellar of this mansion, being
paid $3 a month.”

Schenkeveld said her grandmother suffered a worse fate, dying in
China during the Second World War. At this time, her grandfather
couldn’t send money to the family, which was starving. Schenkeveld said
her father still talks about how he was once like those African
children with swollen bellies.

“My aunt talks about how she was starving so badly her hair fell out,” Schenkeveld said. “These were also victims.”

She added that she and her family weren’t able to move to Canada
until 1971. “My grandfather would say things like, ‘The last time I saw
your dad, he was a six-year-old boy,’” she said. “He said, ‘Are you
sure you’re the same man?’”

Her family won’t receive a head-tax payment because her grandfather
died more than 20 years ago. “We believe the Harper government should
treat all head-tax families fairly, with dignity and honour,”
Schenkeveld said. “And do something that’s right, and be brave enough
to do something that’s right. Because a lot of Canadians will feel the
same way. This is racism. We have to acknowledge racism, and it’s
wrong.”

Head tax payer Charlie Quan's Thanksgiving Feast to celebrate ex-gratia payment

Head tax payer Charlie Quan's Thanksgiving Feast to celebrate ex-gratia payment

The following article is by Susanna Ng from her blog www.chineseinvancouver.blogspot.com

Charlie
Quan's thanksgiving feast

image

(caption
1: Quan and his four generations and the roasted pig; caption 2: Quan burnt
incense with daughter-in-law and grandson.  Terry Quan stands in back row on left – He is Charlie's favourite grandson and accompanied Charlie to 1) Nov 26, 2005 Paul Martin meeting, June 22 Apology )

Charlie Quan invited dozens of friends and
community members to enjoy a roasted pig feast and to thank “
Kwan
Kung
” (a Chinese folklore deity) for blessing on redressing the head
tax.

The 99-year-old Quan will turn 100 in February. On Sunday, four generations of
the Quan's gathered at the Quon
Lung Sai Tong (ïðð¯À¾Æ²) and celebrated with
friends and community membe
rs,
including head tax advocates.

The feast included a special roasted pig (a must-have in
Chinese thanksgiving rituals), chickens and chau
mien. Quan said spending was nothing compared to celebrating with everybody.

imageQuan has 4 children
(2 are deceased), 6 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren.

Quan's 44-year-old grandson said Quan buses to Chinatown
almost everyday from his home on Commercial
Drive . He visits friends and plays mahjong with
them. At 99, Quan is still strong and healthy.


http://chineseinvancouver.blogspot.com/2006/12/charlie-quans-thanksgiving-feast.html

Head Tax Redress: process for spouse application now available

Head Tax Redress: process for spouse application now available

The spouses
application is now online at:

http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/multi/redress-redressement/index_e.cfm

Points to keep in mind:

  1. All applicants should name a beneficiary
  2. There will be a process for spouses who have passed away since Feb
    6, 2006
  3. Payments are made to individuals ie. Not
    on a one certificate-one payment basis. This impacts
    on families with former spouses

The CCNC in Toronto and Head Tax Families Society in Vancouver will soon be making announcements and holding meetings to help facilitate application process for spouses.

Below is the official government press release.
 

News Release Banner

Application
Process in Place for Persons in a Conjugal Relationship with a Now-Deceased
Chinese Head Tax Payer

GATINEAU, December 1, 2006 – The Honourable Beverley J. Oda,
Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women, today announced that
individuals who were in a conjugal relationship with a Chinese Head Tax payer
who is now deceased may apply for ex-gratia symbolic payments
of $20,000.

” Canada 's
new Government is following through on its promise to act as quickly as
possible to put this next phase of the application process in place,”
said Minister Oda. “I presented the first ex-gratia payments to Head
Tax payers in Vancouver ,
in late October. For this second phase of the process, we could see the first
payments made as early as February.”
On June 22, 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper offered an official apology
on behalf of the Government of Canada and all Canadians for the Head Tax paid
by Chinese immigrants.
The Head Tax was imposed on Chinese immigrants entering
Canada from 1885 to 1923. The
Dominion of Newfoundland also imposed a Head Tax on Chinese immigrants from
1906 to 1949, the year it joined Confederation.

The Guide and Application Form (in a single document) is
available in English and French on the Department of Canadian Heritage
website at www.canadianheritage.gc.ca.
Print copies may be obtained by phoning the Canadian Heritage Help Line (888 776-8584) or Service Canada (800 622-6232). Forms are also available at
Service Canada Centres, a list of which can be
found at www1.servicecanada.gc.ca/en/gateways/where_you_live/menu.shtml

The Guide and Application Form are also available in Chinese (traditional and
simplified) from the Department of Canadian Heritage for use as a reference
tool only. Application forms must be completed in English or French.

Information
:

Chisholm Pothier
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage
and Status of Women
819 997-7788

Donald Boulanger
A/Chief, Media Relations
Canadian Heritage
819 994-9101

Backgrounder
The Issue
On June 22, 2006, the Prime Minister of Canada outlined a package of
measures. It includes the following:

 

  • an
    official apology on behalf of the Government of Canada and all Canadians
    for the Head Tax paid by Chinese immigrants from 1885 to 1923 to Canada,
    and from 1906 to 1949 to the Dominion of Newfoundland
  • ex-gratia
    payments (payments made voluntarily) of $20,000 to living Head Tax
    payers and living persons who have been in a conjugal relationship with
    a Head Tax payer who is now deceased
  • a
    $24-million Community Historical Recognition Program to provide grant
    and contribution funding for community projects linked to wartime
    measures and immigration restrictions
  • a
    $10-million National Historical Recognition Program to fund federal
    initiatives, developed in partnership with other stakeholders

On October 20, 2006, the Honourable Beverley J.
Oda, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women, participated in a cheque-presentation ceremony in
Vancouver , British Columbia ,
for the first ex-gratia
payments to Chinese immigrants who paid the Head Tax. The Honourable
David Emerson, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Pacific
Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics, accompanied Minister Oda at the
announcement.

History

Over 15 000 Chinese labourers came to
Canada
in the mid-19th century to assist in the construction of the Canadian Pacific
Railway. Once the railway was complete, a number of measures were enacted to
stem the flow of immigrants from China
to Canada .

Beginning with the Chinese
Immigration Act
of 1885, a Head Tax of $50 was imposed
on Chinese newcomers. The Government subsequently raised this amount to $100,
in 1900, and then to $500, in 1903. The tax remained in place until 1923,
when the Chinese
Immigration Act
was amended and effectively excluded
most Chinese immigrants to Canada
until 1947. Newfoundland
imposed a Head Tax on Chinese immigrants from 1906 to 1949, before joining
Confederation.

At the time, this Head Tax was considered legal by Canadian Courts. However,
it is inconsistent with the values that Canadians hold today. However, the
Government of Canada accepts that the Head Tax was inconsistent with the
values that Canadians hold today. The measures announced by the Prime
Minister in June were a step forward recognizing this historic event.

 

http://www.pch.gc.ca/newsroom/index_e.cfm?fuseaction=displayDocument&DocIDCd=CBO061162

 

end

Application Process in Place for Persons in a Conjugal Relationship with a Now-Deceased Chinese Head Tax Payer

This message just in from Victor Wong, executive director of the Chinese Canadian National Council


The spouses
application is now online at:

http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/multi/redress-redressement/index_e.cfm

Points to keep in mind:

  1. All applicants should name a beneficiary
  2. There will be a process for spouses who have passed away since Feb
    6, 2006
  3. Payments are made to individuals ie. Not
    on a one certificate-one payment basis. This impacts
    on families with former spouses.

CCNC will be calling a news conference for
tomorrow (Saturday) at 1pm EST at CCNC.

cheers,

Victor

 

News Release Banner

Application
Process in Place for Persons in a Conjugal Relationship with a Now-Deceased
Chinese Head Tax Payer

GATINEAU, December 1, 2006 – The Honourable Beverley J. Oda,
Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women, today announced that
individuals who were in a conjugal relationship with a Chinese Head Tax payer
who is now deceased may apply for ex-gratia symbolic payments
of $20,000.

” Canada 's
new Government is following through on its promise to act as quickly as
possible to put this next phase of the application process in place,”
said Minister Oda. “I presented the first ex-gratia payments to Head
Tax payers in Vancouver ,
in late October. For this second phase of the process, we could see the first
payments made as early as February.”
On June 22, 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper offered an official apology
on behalf of the Government of Canada and all Canadians for the Head Tax paid
by Chinese immigrants.
The Head Tax was imposed on Chinese immigrants entering
Canada from 1885 to 1923. The
Dominion of Newfoundland also imposed a Head Tax on Chinese immigrants from
1906 to 1949, the year it joined Confederation.

The Guide and Application Form (in a single document) is
available in English and French on the Department of Canadian Heritage
website at www.canadianheritage.gc.ca.
Print copies may be obtained by phoning the Canadian Heritage Help Line (888 776-8584) or Service Canada (800 622-6232). Forms are also available at
Service Canada Centres, a list of which can be
found at www1.servicecanada.gc.ca/en/gateways/where_you_live/menu.shtml

The Guide and Application Form are also available in Chinese (traditional and
simplified) from the Department of Canadian Heritage for use as a reference
tool only. Application forms must be completed in English or French.

Information
:

Chisholm Pothier
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage
and Status of Women
819 997-7788

Donald Boulanger
A/Chief, Media Relations
Canadian Heritage
819 994-9101

Backgrounder
The Issue
On June 22, 2006, the Prime Minister of Canada outlined a package of
measures. It includes the following:

 

  • an
    official apology on behalf of the Government of Canada and all Canadians
    for the Head Tax paid by Chinese immigrants from 1885 to 1923 to Canada,
    and from 1906 to 1949 to the Dominion of Newfoundland
  • ex-gratia
    payments (payments made voluntarily) of $20,000 to living Head Tax
    payers and living persons who have been in a conjugal relationship with
    a Head Tax payer who is now deceased
  • a
    $24-million Community Historical Recognition Program to provide grant
    and contribution funding for community projects linked to wartime
    measures and immigration restrictions
  • a
    $10-million National Historical Recognition Program to fund federal
    initiatives, developed in partnership with other stakeholders

On October 20, 2006, the Honourable Beverley J.
Oda, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women, participated in a cheque-presentation ceremony in
Vancouver , British Columbia ,
for the first ex-gratia
payments to Chinese immigrants who paid the Head Tax. The Honourable
David Emerson, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Pacific
Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics, accompanied Minister Oda at the
announcement.

History

Over 15 000 Chinese labourers came to
Canada
in the mid-19th century to assist in the construction of the Canadian Pacific
Railway. Once the railway was complete, a number of measures were enacted to
stem the flow of immigrants from China
to Canada .

Beginning with the Chinese
Immigration Act
of 1885, a Head Tax of $50 was imposed
on Chinese newcomers. The Government subsequently raised this amount to $100,
in 1900, and then to $500, in 1903. The tax remained in place until 1923,
when the Chinese
Immigration Act
was amended and effectively excluded
most Chinese immigrants to Canada
until 1947. Newfoundland
imposed a Head Tax on Chinese immigrants from 1906 to 1949, before joining
Confederation.

At the time, this Head Tax was considered legal by Canadian Courts. However,
it is inconsistent with the values that Canadians hold today. However, the
Government of Canada accepts that the Head Tax was inconsistent with the
values that Canadians hold today. The measures announced by the Prime
Minister in June were a step forward recognizing this historic event.

 

http://www.pch.gc.ca/newsroom/index_e.cfm?fuseaction=displayDocument&DocIDCd=CBO061162

 

end

 

Media Advisory

December 1, 2006

 

Application Process Announced for Surviving Spouses of Chinese Head Tax
Payers

CCNC Seeks Inclusion of
All Head Tax Families

 

TORONTO. The Government of
Canada today released the application process for surviving spouses (Persons in
a Conjugal Relationship with a Now-Deceased Chinese Head Tax Payer)
living as of
February 6, 2006. As per the redress announcement of June 22, 2006, surviving
spouses
of deceased Head Tax Payers
who had paid the Dominion of Canada Head
Tax (1885-1923) or the Dominion of Newfoundland Head Tax (1906-1949) are
eligible for ex-gratia payments of $20,000.

 

Please see: http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/multi/redress-redressement/index_e.cfm

 

CCNC will hold a news conference to discuss these developments:

Where:            
302 Spadina Avenue,
Suite 507

When:              December
2, 2006 at 1:00 pm EST

 

“The Canadian Government has today
taken another concrete step in implementing the redress announcement of June 22nd,”
Colleen Hua, CCNC National President said today. “We take this
opportunity to urge the Canadian Government to be inclusive of all head tax
families in this process of reconciliation and extend redress payments to
families where the Head Tax payer and spouse have both passed away.”

 

CCNC and redress-seeking groups have
identified more than 420 living spouses of deceased head tax payers across
Canada
this past year and will endeavour to contact the
surviving head tax payers and their families. “A handful of the spouses
who registered with us have passed away in these last few months,” Victor
Wong, CCNC Executive Director said today. “We will continue to work
collaboratively with the Government to restore honour
and dignity to all head tax families and to the community.”

 

Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC)
continues to work with other redress-seeking groups including the Ontario
Coalition of Chinese Head Tax Payers and Families (Ontario Coalition),
Association of Chinese Canadians for Equality and Solidarity (ACCESS), Head Tax
Families Society of Canada (formerly the B.C. Coalition of Head Tax Payers,
Spouses and Descendants), Calgary Chinese Head Tax Redress Coordinating
Committee, Edmonton Chinese HTEA Redress Committee, Saskatchewan Chinese Head
Tax Redress Committee, Chinese Canadian Redress Alliance (CCRA), Halifax
Chinese Redress Committee, and the Steering Committee on Chinese Newfoundland
Head Tax in the campaign to redress the Chinese Head Tax and Chinese Exclusion
Act.

 

– 30-

 

For more information, please contact:

Victor Wong, CCNC, (416) 977-9871

 

Head Tax Families Call on Federal Government for Good Faith Negotiations – nearly 500 people show up

Head Tax Families Call on Federal Government 
for Good Faith Negotiations

- nearly 500 people show up


A CTV cameraman shoots footage of media stories and head tax
certificates - photo Todd Wong


Sid Tan sends the following - My pictures to follow soon:

Highlights of this HTFSC event (November 25/06) will be on Saltwater
City Television broadcast on $Shaw TV on Wednesday November 29 at 8:00pm
-
9:00pm. Includes full presentation by Grace Schenkeveld, Lillian Lim,
Jack Layton, Ujjal Dosanjh, Libby Davies, David Cadman and me. Also 15min.
doc of the rally and information line at SUCCESS and CCC last year.
Enjoy, enjoy...

Media Release: November 25, 2006

Head Tax Families Call on Federal Government
for Good Fait
Negotiations:
Nearly 500 Hundred Observe Seminal Turnaround Moment
of Redress
Movement


Honourary Head Tax Families Society memberships went to Vancouver MP Libby Davies,
Head Tax payer Charlie Quan; Federal NDP Leader Jack Layton;
Quon Chung Shee Der
represented by her daughter Tse Cho Tai, Gim Wong and Hanson Lau (out of picture)
- photo Todd Wong

Vancouver BC - Dignitaries and close to five hundred Chinese seniors,
their families and supporters observed the turnaround of the Chinese
head tax/exclusion redress struggle at a public forum at the David Lam
Hall (Chinese Cultural Centre).today. Organised by the Head Tax
Families Society of Canada (HTFSC), a bold and clear path to just and
honourable redress called the Three Manifests was mapped by a near
unanimous show of hands. There were no dissenting votes.

The Head Tax Families Society of Canada believes a just and honourable
redress begins with the Three Manifests: 1) the Government of Canada
will recognize and acknowledge redress is incomplete; 2) the
Government of Canada will commit to good faith negotiations with head
tax families seeking direct redress; and 3) the Government of Canada
will act in the spirit of "one certificate one claim."


Ann Roberts, Kerry Jang, Vancouver City Councillor David Cadman,
Vancouver East MP Libby Davies and Federal NDP Leader Jack Layton
all raise there hands in support of "The Three Manifests" for a full
Head Tax redress - photo Todd Wong

"The Three Manifests is our mandate for a starting point for dialogue
with the government," said Grace Schenkeveld, HTFSC co-chairperson and
grand-daughter of a head tax payer. "We are seeking for head tax
families what every Canadian should want – justice and honour with
the symbolic refund of an unjust tax."

On June 22, 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper imposed a unilateral
settlement that will directly address only 0.6% of affected head tax
families. Approximately 600 surviving head tax payers and spouses
will receive $20,000 in ex gratia payments. Over 82,000 Chinese
families paid the unjust tax between 1885 and 1923 in Canada and 1906
to 1949 in Newfoundland before joining Confederation.

"Our call for one certificate one claim was articulated by Charlie
Quan, a head tax payer, in his handwritten letter hand-delivered to
Jason Kenney, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister," states
Sid Tan, a HTFSC spokesperson and grandson of a head tax payer. "It
is a simple and dignified proposal to treat all head tax families
equally and fairly."

In 1984, Margaret Mitchell, then New Democrat MP for Vancouver East,
raised the issue on behalf of constituent Dak Leon Mark, a head tax
payer. With the help of Hanson Lau, broadcaster and host of Overseas
Chinese Voice, close to 800 head tax families registered a call for
direct redress that year. To date, over 5,000 head tax families have
registered with HTFSC and redress-seeking groups across Canada the
past twenty two years.


A Head Tax descendant proudly shows his support for Jack Layton's
stance against the Iraq War - photo Todd Wong

"The NDP was first to raised the issue in the House of Commons in
1984,".states Jack Layton, Leader of the federal New Democrats.
"Since then, I am proud to say that New Democrats have worked with the
Chinese community every step of the way for justice and redress. We
will continue to do so."

For their longtime principled work on redress, MP's Jack Layton and
Libby Davies of the New Democrats and Ujjal Dosanjh of the Liberals
were awarded honourary membership in HTFSC. Their memberships
symbolize HTFSC is politically non-partisan and open to all Canadians
of good conscience. As well, Vancouver councilors David Cadman of
COPE and George Chow of Vision Vancouver made generous donations and
purchased memberships in HTFSC. Also in attendance were New Democrat
MP's Dawn Black and Penny Priddy and Kanman Wong representing
Conservative cabinet minister David Emerson..

Honourary memberships were also awarded to recognize head tax families
and other Chinese Canadians in the struggle for justice and honour.
Charlie Quan, Quon Chung Shee Der represented by her daughter Tse Cho
Tai, Gim Wong and Hanson Lau received their membership as,
respectively, a head tax payer, a spouse of a head tax payer (Mrs.
Der), a son of two head tax payers and a Chinese non-descendant. All
have been longtime champions for head tax families.


Fairchild TV interviews head tax descendants and members of the
Head Tax Families Society - photo Todd Wong

Last year on November 26, several hundred people marched in protest
and set up an information line in Chinatown. It attended outside a
closed redress conference funded by the government at the Chinese
Cultural Center and a photo opportunity for Prime Minister Paul Martin
at United Chinese Community Enrichment Social Services (SUCCESS).
This "on the streets" action is now considered by many in the redress
movement as a seminal moment in the redress struggle.

Head Tax Families Society of Canada is a B. C. registered Society with
a mandate of over 2,500 written claims for justice and honour from and
for Chinese pioneer families. An open membership and democratic
Society, HTFSC continues its mission of meaningful redress for head
tax families.


Vancouver City Councillor George Chow is a head tax descendant.
He poses with Sid Tan head tax activist on the far right, and
Meena Wong, translator for the evnet on the far left. - photo Todd Wong

- 30 -

--