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Home to my passions for my inter-cultural adventures,
Gung Haggis Fat Choy: Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner event.
Save Kogawa House campaign,
Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dragon Boat team,
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Join the
Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dragon Boat team
for lots of summer fun, fitness and friendship. We are a social team full of cultural vigor, that likes to eat.
We have been featured on television, local, national and international. We have a unique and internationally famous fundraiser dinner event.
We practice
Sunday 1:30 pm -3:30 pm
Tuesday 6pm-7:45pm
Wednesday 6pm - 7:45 pm
We meet at Dragon Zone clubhouse - just south of Science World in Creekside Park above the Aquabus and dragon boat docks.
Our coach Todd Wong has 15+ years of experience including novice, recreational and competitive levels, and both community and corporate teams.
Our 2005 Season brought us the David Lam Award for being the team that best represented the multicultural spirit of the Alcan Dragon Boat Festival, and Bronze medals at the Vancouver International Taiwanese Dragon Boat Race. In 2007, we won Gold in B Division at Vernon Races.
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Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dragon Boat team information
phone: 604-987-7124-
e-mail: gunghaggis at yahoo dot ca
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2009 TICKETS Available in October 2008
WHAT: GUNG HAGGIS FAT CHOY: Toddish McWong's Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner - 12th Annual Dinner, celebrating 250th Anniversary of Robert Burns' birth + Chinese New Year's Eve.
WHEN:
6PM January 25 2009, SUNDAY
doors open 5pm
WHERE: Floata Chinese Restaurant,
#400-180 Keefer St.
CULTURE:
Our Performers
create something special for us every year with traditional and contemporary performances featuring everything in-between and beyond!
FOOD: A quirky fusion/mix/buffet of
Scottish Canadian and Chinese Canadian culture 10 course Chinese banguet dinner
2004 - The debut of Gung Haggis Won-Ton
2005 - Haggis lettuce wrap!
2007 - Haggis dim sum appetizer buffet
2008 - Scotch tastings!
Watch for more surprises in 2008!
Description of 2006 Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dinner featuring performers: Rick Scott & Harry Wong, The Shirleys, Joe McDonald & Brave Waves, Sean Gunn, author Joy Kogawa, with co-host Prem Gill .
Media Inquiries
Call Gung Haggis Productions 604-987-7124
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Friday, December 30

Paul Martin’s statement on Chinese Head Tax Not Good Enough! - Mary-Woo Sims
by
Todd
on Fri 30 Dec 2005 10:30 AM PST
Paul Martin’s statement on Chinese Head Tax Not Good Enough! - Mary-Woo Sims
Mary -Woo Sims is a long time human rights advocate and a friend of
mine. She helped Gim Wong on his motorcycle Ride for Redress,
motorbiking up to Craigelacchie, the site of the "Last Spike" with him
in 2004. She is running as an NDP candidate for Port
Moody/Westwood/Port Coquitlam.
MEDIA RELEASE
|
For immediate release
December
29, 2005
|
Paul
Martin’s statement on Chinese Head Tax Not Good Enough!
Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam - NDP
candidate Mary Woo Sims and long time human rights advocate says Paul Martin’s
statement that he feels “deep sorrow” over the Chinese Head Tax imposed in the
late 1800’s and early 1900’s is not good enough.
In an article published in a major Chinese
daily Ming Pao on December 28, 2005, Paul Martin, who met with Chinese
community leaders in Montreal on Dec. 28, 2006 reportedly said that he felt
deep sorrow over the Chinese Head Tax and that he would take the advice of
Raymond Chan and David Emerson to review the situation after the election.
“Why won’t he just come out and apologize
to Chinese Canadians for the imposition of the Chinese Head Tax and the
subsequent Chinese Exclusion Act?” said Sims.
“They have used the words ‘deep regret’ and now ‘deep sorrow’. Why don’t they take the next step and make a
formal apology to Chinese Canadians like New Zealand’s Prime Minister the Rt.
Honourable Helen Clark did in 2002 over similar treatment in that country of
its Chinese citizens earlier in the last century?”
Sims, who has been actively working on the
Head Tax and Exclusion Act redress movement for years and who started the “Gim
Wong Ride For Redress” rode with 82 year old Wong to Craigallachie, BC in 2004
to try to bring attention to this historic injustice. “Raymond Chan has failed Head Tax payers and their descendents in
his attempts to divide Chinese community leaders on the appropriate way to
redress this issue and David Emerson’s use of a Chinese insult to describe Jack
Layton shows that he simply doesn’t understand the sensitivities of the
community” said Sims.
Sims supports canceling the deal made by
the Liberals to redress the Head Tax just before the election call. “Today in Toronto, our leader, Jack Layton
said that ‘we need to have a response from our government that starts with an
apology – an open and complete apology to the Chinese community. That has got to be the starting place for
redress.’ I agree with the stand that
my leader has taken and look forward to working with him in Parliament to
achieve a just redress for this historic racist injustice” said Sims.
-30-
For more information call: Joy Langan 604-868-6123
Tuesday, December 27

Boxing Day Head Tax stories in Media: Vancouver Sun and CKNW
by
Todd
on Tue 27 Dec 2005 01:54 PM PST

Boxing Day Head Tax stories in Media: Vancouver Sun and CKNW
VANCOUVER SUN
Tuesday » December 27 » 2005
Head-tax redress a top issue in several ridings Liberals and Conservatives have
opposite views on an issue that could sway some Lower Mainland constituencies
Jonathan Fowlie
Vancouver Sun
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Redress for the head tax Ottawa once imposed on Chinese-Canadians is
becoming a significant election issue in some ridings in B.C. and
Ontario, Chinese community leaders told a news conference Monday.
"With the Conservative party and the Liberal party taking diametrically
different positions on this, that could have an effect," former Vancouver
councillor Tung Chan said.
Tung cited Burnaby-Douglas and Richmond as two examples of Lower
Mainland ridings where the issue is key.
"Richmond has 40 per cent Chinese-Canadians living there, so that could
well be one of the ridings where this could have a major impact," Chan said.
Joseph Wong, president of the Chinese Canadian National Council, agreed,
saying the head tax and the recently announced $2.5-million plan by
Ottawa to address the issue are starting to be of major concern, especially in
ridings with a substantial Chinese community.
In November, the Liberal government announced a $2.5-million plan to
recognize the historic injustice of the head tax, but it did not apologize
or offer individual financial redress to victims and their families.
"As far as we are concerned, the Chinese community across Canada is
voicing our disapproval of that type of settlement," said Wong.
"We absolutely would not accept this type of settlement imposed upon us
by the federal Liberal government," he added.
Wong, who is also a recipient of the Order of Canada, said there are are
at least 10 Ontario ridings where the Chinese-Canadian community accounts
for at least 10 to 15 per cent of voters, and where the head tax issue
could affect the outcome.
While campaigning in Ontario earlier this month, Conservative leader Stephen
Harper changed his position on the head tax issue and joined the New
Democratic Party and Bloc Quebecois in condemning the government's
$2.5-million plan as inadequate.
Harper also called on Parliament to apologize for the head tax.
Between 1885 and 1923, the Canadian government collected $23 million in
so-called head taxes -- essentially fees to immigrate to Canada -- from
about 81,000 Chinese immigrants. The government went a step further
between 1923 and 1947 by imposing an outright ban on Chinese immigration.
At Monday's news conference, Wong called the head tax the "most racist,
dirtiest part of Canadian history" and demanded it be properly addressed.
"The federal government is not taking this seriously enough," he said,
slamming the recently announced Liberal plan.
Wong went on to urge Chinese Canadians to become more involved in the
election because of the issue, though he stopped short of endorsing one
party over another.
"I'm asking Canadians of Chinese descent to participate in the political
process," he said. "I am asking people to know about the issues they are
voting for, and also to know about the stance of their candidates and
vote accordingly."
jfowlie@png.canwest.com
© The Vancouver Sun 200
City's Chinese community wants Ottawa to up the ante
Dec, 26 2005 - 7:20 PM
VANCOUVER/CKNW(AM980) - A group of concerned Chinese Canadians are calling
on the Liberal Government to rescind an agreement in principle on the headtax redress.
Former Vancouver City Councillor Tung Chan says on Boxing Day or not
this is about to become a major issue in the Federal election.
Reps from several groups are calling for an apology and individual
compensation, charged Chinese immigrants between 1885 and 1947.
Dr. Joseph Wong is the founding President of the Chinese Canadian
National Council, "I'm asking Canadians of Chinese descent to participate in the
political process. We know the Chinese community has not been a high
voter turnout within our community and I think that this is exactly the
problem that we are facing."
Dr. Wong also points to recent polls suggesting 75 to 90 percent of
those asked in the Chinese Canadian community aren't satisfied with the
agreement offer which is 12 and a half million dollars in compensation.
Monday, December 26

Redress: The book by Roy Miki - addressing racial identity and its consequences
by
Todd
on Mon 26 Dec 2005 06:56 PM PST
Redress: The book by Roy Miki - addressing racial identity and its consequences
It's Boxing Day morning at Kalamalka Lake, and I am not at any Boxing
Day sales in Vancouver. I am reading Roy Miki's book Redress: Inside
the Japanese Canadian redress movement. Roy is an amazing person. In
1994 I interviewed him for an article in the Simon Fraser University
student newspaper "The Peak".
I am stunned by the atrocities and restrictions placed on the Canadians
of Japanese descent, even though I have read many accounts. I nod
knowingly when I read that Asian Canadians were "racialized" in the
1900's - particularly by the Anti-Asiastic League who wanted to create
and maintain a "white Vancouver" despite the presence of First Nations
peoples. I read about the 1907 meeting at City Hall, that erupted into
a riot in Chinatown, where stores were attacked and damaged, before the
white rioters headed to Japantown where they were repelled by a
prepared community.
This was the Vancouver where my maternal grandmother was raised,
soon after being born in 1910 in Victoria BC. This was the political
and social climate where my paternal grandfather was given a
"Chinaman's Chance" of defending a non-guilty plea for drug
trafficking, because the RCMP wanted to make an example of him as one
of Victoria's top community leaders that they could "take down." This
was the BC, where the $500 head tax was only applied to ethnic Chinese
in an effort to keep "the Yellow Peril" away from "British" Vancouver,
where the early city fathers, provincial fathers and leaders of
Canadian Federation had emmigrated from Scotland and England, seeking a
better life.... just as the Chinese had, leaving behind a corrupt
Imperial government, famines, to come to "Gum San" - the gold mountain
of opportunity.
In the first chapeter of Redress, Roy Miki tells the story of
Tomekichi (Tomey) Homma "naturalized as a British Subject" in Canada,
who tried to have his name put on the voter's list, but was turned down
no doubt, because of the stipulation in Section 8 of the Provincial
Election Act which stated: "No Chinaman, Japanese, or Indian shall have
his name placed on the Register of Voters for any Electoral District,
or be entitled to vote in any election."
Homma decided to challange the ruling on October 19th, 1900, but
was eventurally denied by a lengthy court case and both the BC and
Canadian governments. The Privy council at the time had stated that
"Orientals... were so inassimilable that they were incapable of
participating in the democratic process." (Miki, p. 33-34)
The Victoria Times Colonist newspaper at the time had written
"We are relieved from the possibility of having polling booths swampd
by a horde of Orientals who are totally uniftted either by custom of
education to exercise the ballot, and whose voting would completely
demoralise politics... they have not the remotest idea of what a
democratic and representative government is, and are quite incapable of
taking part in it." (Miki, p 28)
My great-great-grandfather Rev. Chan Yu Tan, was educated at the
Wesleyan Mission in Hong Kong, and arrived in Canada in 1896, following
his elder brother the Rev. Chan Sing Kai - the first Chinese ordained
in Canada. The Chinese Methodist Church helped teach the Chinese
immigrants how to speak English. A favourite story that my grandmother
tells me is that her granfather would tell his family, "We are in
Canada now - we should do things the Canadian way." In every generation
of his 6 descendants in Canada, there have been inter-racial marriages
with Caucasians. In fact, descendants in the 6th and 7th generation are
now only 1/4 and 1/8 Chinese.
Yes, Canada has had a racist history, and yes Asians have
successfully integrated and assimilated. But is this alone a case for
redress for past wrongs? Certainly not. The case for redress is that in
the 17 years since the 1988 redress settlement there has been
tremendous healing in the Japanese Canadian community. In his final
chapter, Miki shares that in order to become fully Canadian, the
community had to forge an identity of being Japanese-Canadian through
both internment and redress.
Similarly, my grandmother's younger brother Daniel Lee, a WW2
veteran, has consistenly requested that the Canadian government
apologize for the head tax. Our family elders did not have the
privilege or franchise to vote in the country of their birth until
1947, while other families were kept apart because of the consequences
of the head tax and Chinese Exclusion Act. I am aware that as I have
grown up in Canada, I have always been racialized, as my uncles before
me who were denied jobs and university admittance. These were the real
consequences of the head tax and continued legislated and socialized
racism. Reading the accounts of the Japanese Canadians during
internment, I can only marvel at what my own ancestors endured from
arrivals in 1888 to 1947, when they were finally able to vote.
Friday, December 23

CCNC releases Election Primer for Chinese Canadians urging them to vote and make a difference
by
Todd
on Fri 23 Dec 2005 04:18 PM PST
The Chinese Canadian National Council launched its 2006 Election Primer today. “Head Tax redress has become a key community driven election issue,” Colleen Hua, CCNC National President said today. “We’ve developed a questionnaire of 12 questions on a range of topics for the Party Leaders and for the community to use when candidates knock at their door.”
With most of the more than one million Chinese Canadians living in urban ridings, the federal Parties need to pay attention to the concerns of the Chinese Canadian community. “There are no less than 14 candidates of Chinese descent running for elected office and Chinese Canadians are involved at all levels of this federal campaign,” Dr. Joseph Wong, Founding President of CCNC said today, “CCNC and equality-seeking groups urge prospective voters to register, to become familiar with the issues, to ask questions of candidates and to vote in this upcoming election.” more »
Wednesday, December 21

Head Tax on CBC TV with Oliva Chow vs Raymond Chan
by
Todd
on Wed 21 Dec 2005 10:33 AM PST

Head Tax on CBC TV with Oliva Chow vs Raymond Chan
CBC TV hosted Toronto Councillor & NDP candidate and Raymond
Chan Minister of State (Multiculturalism) on TV this morning.
This issues is becoming big and bigger as more and more Chinese
Canadian head tax descendants become more aware of the issue. I
just had a phone call from a stranger that saw the broadcast - and
asked me how to find her grandfather's documentation. Expect this
more and more...
Host(s): MIKE DUFFY
MIKE DUFFY: Well a murky chapter in Canadian history has resurfaced in this
federal election campaign. Just prior to the fall of the minority government,
the Liberals announced an agreement with the Chinese-Canadian community. They
would be given millions of dollars to build an educational facility to
acknowledge that Canada had put restrictions on Chinese immigrants called a
head tax which was in place from 19, I'm sorry 1885 to 1923. But many
people say the deal doesn't go far enough. Others say it will open up a
Pandora's box of litigations from other ethnic groups. Joining me tonight in
Vancouver, the Minister of Multiculturalism, the Honourable Raymond Chan, and in
Toronto the NDP candidate in that city Olivia Chow. So, Ms Chow, what's wrong
with the proposal the government's put forward to recognize that the head
tax was a wrong thing?
OLIVIA CHOW (NDP Candidate): I don't know, Mike, why it's so difficult for a
Canadian government, the Liberal party, to actually say "sorry", apologize for
the wrong so that the 250 people that are still left, that are still alive that
have paid a head tax could at least get a sense of justice. Apologize and
then begin the reconciliation talk so that they can perhaps get a symbolic
compensation. Doesn't have to be too much. We did it for the Japanese-Canadians.
Why can't we do it for the Chinese-Canadians?
DUFFY: Let me just go back over the ground for people who may not be aware of
this issue. What the government is saying is that instead of giving money to
individual people who were harmed by this, as the Mulroney government did for
the Japanese who were interned during the Second World War, the Martin
government is saying let's give a general grant to the community and let the
community use it to build a kind of cultural centre, a memorial museum to remind
future generations of what happened. So there is a different approach between
the two.
CHOW: It's also, the way the money's being doled out is not at all
transparent. And one of the groups that are receiving the money is not formally
established yet. The Montreal Cultural Centre that was announced actually
doesn't quite formally exist. So it's murky in the way that where is the money
going, what's the formal application process, who is qualified? Are these people
are special connected friends of the Liberal party? Is that why they are getting
the money?
DUFFY: No, no, they would never do that.
CHOW: Well I don't know what the Gomery inquiry is all about.
DUFFY: The culture of entitlement. Well, we've lost Minister Chan somehow.
The satellite went down. We're working on that.
CHOW: Maybe it is the ghost of the people that have actually passed away.
It's actually quite sad.
DUFFY: It's not a very good omen. But while we try to get him back, how
serious is the division within the Chinese-Canadian community?
CHOW: If you consider the day that this was announced, this deal was
announced, it was all very secretive, but when it was announced, one of the
local Chinese stations did a poll. Eighty-eight percent of the Chinese-Canadians
that phoned in said, no, this is terrible. This is not good. Twelve percent said
ah, maybe this is a good thing. So you can tell that a lot of people said, look,
already a lot of these seniors have passed away and shouldn't we at bare minimum
apologize and then do the reconciliation so that a historical wrong can be
overcome. And just going, just throwing the money out there is a wasteful of
money and it doesn't do anything.
DUFFY: So the choice, and we're still trying to get Minister Chan, so the
choice is between giving several million dollars to a community centre to build
a kind of museum, and giving cheques to individual people. Would it be the same
amount of money? What if somebody who doesn't know this says, oh, they're just
looking for free money from the government.
CHOW: Well, actually there are certificates that they have to pay. It doesn't
have to be a big amount. It could also just be a symbolic amount. And maybe some
of these head taxpayers don't even want the money. I think the key thing is
respect them, ask them what they want to do with the money. Some of them may not
want the money. They may want to use it for education purposes. Fine. But at
least ask them, respect them. One of the group that...
DUFFY: Ms. Chow, I'm sorry, the Minister is back on the line. Minister, our
sincere apology, I don't know what happened. You've been able to hear our
discussion? RAYMOND CHAN (Minister of Multiculturalism): Yes I have been
listening.
DUFFY: We just didn't have your picture and sound. So now you've heard Ms
Chow's point of view. Tell us why the government did what it's doing and what
you hope the reaction from the community will be.
CHAN: First of all, the head tax thing is a very terrible thing that
the past government have done in the 100 years ago. And...
DUFFY: Maybe some Canadians don't understand that. Any Chinese coming to
Canada during that period from 1885 to 1920, whatever, had to pay how much for
every single person? They had to pay the Canadian government to come here.
CHAN: Close to about $500. And it is something that is terribly wrong.
DUFFY: And in those days it was a heck of a lot of money.
CHOW: You could buy a house.
CHAN: The issue is, Mike, is that the government's position is that we have
to acknowledge that this kind of thing was terribly wrong, and then we have to
commemorate and educate our children and the children of our children to the
dark pages of our history and make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen again.
But the issue is that an apology would open up the Canadian taxpayers for
unlimited liability, financial liability, and that's why you can't do it.
CHOW: Oh, excuse me. You know, this whole case has gone to the Supreme Court,
and the courts have said that this is a political issue, that apology is fine,
and they have the court case.
CHAN: No.
CHOW: They have a court case, and legally there is no other route to go, so
don't hide behind the legal pressure. Japanese-Canadians had no problem. They
had a compensation.
CHAN: The court has said that the government is not liable, but even if they
are not liable and yet we still apologize and pay out compensation that would
open up all the cases for everybody else.
DUFFY: It becomes an admission of guilt. You are afraid it becomes... CHAN:
And also legally liability.
CHOW: No.
CHAN: For limited financial cases.
CHOW: Minister, it has gone to the, Minister, it has gone to the court.
CHAN: That's right.
CHOW: The court said that there is no case for it. So the whole liability,
the legal issue is a red herring. Why wouldn't you apologize? Brian Mulroney,
even though I'm not a Tory, apologized. There was no legal case. Nothing
happened. He apologized.
DUFFY: But Ms Chow.
CHOW: So why is that a problem?
UFFY: Sorry, we're almost out of time.
Interesting, Pierre Trudeau said no way to any group, not to the Japanese, the
Chinese, no one because he said we are not responsible for the sins of our
fathers. Brian Mulroney opened to the Japanese, and now minister, you've got all
of this on your plate, not just the Chinese but many other groups, right?
CHAN: Everybody else, because the issue is that even though the courts have
said that we're not liable. but at the same time if he decided to come and
apologize then that will lead the government to be liable for everything that
the courts said we're not liable for. And that would expose the Canadian
taxpayer for unlimited financial liability.
CHOW: So let me ask you then, if you don't want to apologize, you don't want
to compensate, why are you putting aside that money, and why isn't that money
open for different groups to apply. What is it the criteria? You know that $2.5
million there is no criteria.
CHAN: This is a problem of you that you keep on... CHOW: Canadian household.
CHAN: You keep on saying that we hand out money, and now you are saying that
we have not handed out money.
CHOW: You did.
CHAN: We have not. We're just coming together with the Chinese community to
form a foundation with people from the success, from the Chinese cultural
association across Canada, with the Chinese Free Masons. We never seen that kind
of historical support from across the country of the Chinese community on one
single government project. They come together to form a foundation and then they
would judge which project they should finance and which ones they shouldn't.
DUFFY: Mr. Minister, Olivia Chow, thank you both for joining us. Terribly
sorry for the technical problems earlier. That's what happens sometimes with
live TV. We appreciate you both for coming in tonight.
--30--
Sunday, December 18

Successful Dec 18 meeting for head tax payers and descendants
by
Todd
on Sun 18 Dec 2005 05:22 PM PST
Successful Dec 18 meeting for head tax payers and descendants
A good meeting today with lots of action and movement. Sid counted
about 85 people attending our meeting. I chaired, with interpretation
from Gabriel, and Joseph. Also speaking were Sid, Foon, Thekla and
our special Toronto guest Dora Nipp.
We followed the agenda with a few additions which were:
1 - Do we organize officially under the societies act and with what name - generally the answer was Yes - and same name
2 - Eric Chan is doing a documentary and interviewing people willing to share stories about head tax and exclusion
3 - Talk by Dora Nipp, and what is happening in Toronto and Ontario
4 - Cynthia is doing an art project and would like copies of head tax certifcate images
Lots of people commented on what we could
do. They brought photocopies of head tax certificates, and they signed
petitions, and they took petitions and information sheets home with
them.
Our strategy for the Christmas break is to go enjoy our
parties with families and friends, and share with them the head tax
redress issues. It is important that our numbers will grow.
In January we will:
1 - hold workshops on how to research your family head tax certificate
2 - hold information sessions/meetings on head issues as we have been doing.
3 - collect stories on head tax payers and descendants
4 - organize all-candidate meetings on head tax issues.
Our next meeting will be January 8th - 1:30pm
Sunday at Quan Lung Sai Tong Association
164 East Hastings St. - just across the lane from Carnegie Centre.
For more information
please contact myself Todd Wong 604-240-7090
or Sid Tan 604-433-6169
Saturday, December 17

Foon Chang presents head tax certificate copy to NDP leader Jack Layton in Vancouver
by
Todd
on Sat 17 Dec 2005 11:56 AM PST

Foon Chang presents head tax certificate copy to NDP leader Jack Layton in Vancouver

NDP
leader Jack Layton accepts a copy of the Head Tax certifate of Foon
Sing's now deceased father-in-law, with NDP candidate Mary-Woo
Sims - photo Ron Kidd.
At an NDP rally this morning in Vancouver at
Subeez Restaurant. Foon Chang cautiously and courageously approached
NDP federal leader Jack Layton with a copy of the head tax certificate
of her now deceased father-in-law. She is a Chinese language speaker
and unsure of her English language skills.
Mary-Woo Sims, NDP
candidate for Port Moody-Westwood-Coquitlam translated to Jack Layton
that Foon Chang had wanted to give a copy of the certificate to him,
and that she had made a promise to her dying father-in-law that she
would continue to seek redress for him. Jack expressed his thanks to
Foon Chang, and Foon Chang said that she felt deep gratitude in being
able to ask Layton for his support, and that he was willing and
committed to helping resolve a fair redress.
Layton told Foon
Chang that the NDP has been working for 20 years to seek redress in
parliament for head tax payers. He also told her that his wife Olivia
Chow is a head tax redress advocate in Toronto, and said a few words of "thank you" in
both Mandarin and Cantonese.
Foon Chang told me that she is looking foward to the 1pm meeting on
Sunday, Dec 18th, organized by the BC Coalition for Head Tax Payers and
Descendants, to be held at Quan Lung Sai Tong Association at 164 East
Hastings St.
picture to follow soon!
Friday, December 16

Vancouver Sun: Daphne Bramham column addresses politicians, multiculturalism and Sid and Todd's adventures at a Raymond Chan press conference in Mandarin
by
Todd
on Fri 16 Dec 2005 11:58 PM PST

Vancouver Sun: Daphne Bramham column addresses politicians,
multiculturalism and Sid and Todd's adventures at a Raymond Chan press
conference in Mandarin
Vancouver Sun columnist
Daphne Bramham has been exploring interesting angles in the Chinese
Head Tax issue, that many media are calling the surprise election
issue. Check out Politicians must represent Everyone: Holding separate news conferences for ethnic media goes against multiculturalism goal, Friday, December 16th, p. B1 & B4.
Bramham explores that while English and French are Canada's official
languages, other languages are becoming increasingly prevalent in major
urban centres such as Vancouver, Surrey, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary and
Richmond. In an increasingly culturally diverse Canada, she pleas
that our politicians must use our common language in order not to
isolate, or ghettoize specific cultural or ethnic groups.
Bramham recalls the December 2nd press conference held by Richmond MP
and Minister of State (Multiculturalism) Raymond Chan at his campaign
office in Richmond, which was conducted in Mandarin Chinese for the
Chinese language media. English speaking media were not invited
to discuss the controversial issue of Chinese head-tax redress and ACE
program which Chan has signed with the National Congress of Chinese
Canadians.
This issue has been criticized by both members of the media and the
community for its exclusion of both and apology and individual tax
refund or compensation - not to mention an almost complete exclusion of
negotiating with the Chinese Canadian National Council which has
registered 4000 head tax payers and descendants. This issue has
clearly divided the Chinese community in all its myriad forms of
pioneers, new immigrants, multi-generational descendants, old
immigrants and more.
Bramham included details from my visit to the Chan press conference wrote:
"Two journalists were there who don't speak fluently in either Mandarin
or Cantonese - Sid Chow Tan, who works for Vancouver Co-op Radio, and
Todd Wong, who was writing a piece for the Web magazine, The Tyee.
both speak English as a first language and, incidently, both disagree
with Chan and the Liberal government's handling of the redress issue.
"Chow Tan and Wong had to rely on other journalists and later
translators to get the gist of what was said. And it was heady
stuff.
Bramham goes on to describe the content of the translation of Chan's
Dec. 2 press release in which Chan accused the Chinese Canadian
National Council and "some members of the NDP of using the issue of the
head tax, the suffering of the head-tax payers and untruthful
information to deepen the conflict within the Chinese community, attack
a political party, many community volunteers and myself in order to
benefit a certain political party and organization."
"This is a violaiton of justice. Their words and action are dispicable," continues Chan.
Bramham goes on to point out that "This is headline-grabbing stuff that
got prominent attention in the Chinese media and might have in most
other Canadian media. "Why were only Chinese-speaking journalists
invited," she asks. "Head-tax redress is not a Chinese issue.
Bramham points out that how Canada deals with head-tax redress will
demonstrate what it means to have a compassionate, inclusive and
multicultural country, using the 1988 redress settlement for the
Japanese Canadians who were interned during World War 2.
Clearly our notions of our country change with every wave of
immigration. How did the initial French and English pioneers
treat the First Nations people? How are the new immigrant Chinese
treating the established mainstream English speaking community
now? Multiculturalism has been under attack in recent years for
becoming a "cottage industry" that perpetuates itself according to
writer Neil Bissoondath.
As a 5th generation Chinese Canadian, I grew up with stories about how
difficult it was for my ancestors and my parents to find acceptance in
Canada - even little things like finding an appartment, getting a job,
going to University - without racial discrimination. But today,
many new Chinese language immigrants take it for granted that they can
live completely in Vancouver without having to speak in English.
At the end of her column Bramham writes:
Multiculturalism is about the kind of
real integration that results from mutual respect, equal economic and
social opportunites and substantive equality. Barriers to
integration of individual Canadians are barriers to the progress of
Canada as a whole.
She then attributes the eloquent quote to Raymond Chan's speech when he
opened a conference in October. She concludes by stating
"Apparently when it comes to multiculturalism, a lot is lost in the
translation of word to action.
Thursday, December 15

National Post: 1885 tax becomes an issue in 2006
by
Todd
on Thu 15 Dec 2005 01:01 PM PST
National Post: 1885 tax becomes an issue in 2006
Not a day goes by now without a story on Chinese Head Tax in one paper or another....
There are lots of issues within this seemingly innocuous and
historically forgotten and ignored moment in Canadian history. At
its core, it appears to be a Liberal grab for votes by appealing to
Chinese language voters and ethnic voters. But many things have
gone awry.
The problems of this "One size fits All" redress for recognizing
"the historical experiences of [all] ethnocultural communities impacted
by wartime measures and immigration experiences," would NOT be
tolerated if it were treaty negotiations with First Nations
peoples. Each ethno cultural group must be addressed separately
and on an individual basis. While it is true that no group
suffered the material loss that the Japanese Canadians did during WW2
Internment, it is also true that no other ethnocultural group was
targeted with a racially discriminatory head tax followed by an
outright exlusionary ban on immigrantion.
The Liberals are now in damage control and the Conservatives, NDP and
Bloc Quebecois smell blood. It is ironic that after decades of
continued discrimination and having calls for Chinese head tax redress
dismissed by the government, that the closest the few remaining head
tax survivors see to a settlement is not because of fairness, honour
and justice - but because of its exact opposite in yet another Liberal
manipulation of public funds for votes.
Below is today's head tax article in the National Post
National Post: 1885 tax becomes an issue in 2006
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=cfedb730-
4d0e-485f-a43b-0b046a40aa06&k=50231&p=1
Brian Hutchinson, National Post
Published: Thursday, December 15, 2005
RICHMOND, B.C. - Raymond Chan is an emotional fellow. Canada's minister
of state for multiculturalism has been known to cry in front of
constituents in his suburban Vancouver riding. Sometimes he cries out
of gratitude, and sometimes in anger. His eyes teared up when our
discussion this week touched on human rights.
He likens himself to a crusader, a defender of democracy; he is quick
to mention he was once jailed in China, for leading a protest against
that country's authoritarian regime.
It might seem odd, then, that Mr. Chan is so firmly opposed to a
measure of reconciliation here at home, especially one that appeals to
many residents of his Richmond riding. Half of the riding's eligible
voters are, like him, of Chinese origin.
The issue is the long-discarded head tax, a racist duty imposed on
Chinese immigrants to Canada between 1885 and 1923. It's estimated
Ottawa collected $23-million from Chinese newcomers in those years;
those who are still alive, and many of their descendants, want the
money back.
They would also like a formal apology.
Mr. Chan once heartily supported their requests for compensation and redress.
But no longer. And he's not alone; indeed, half a dozen large
Chinese-Canadian organizations that represent hundreds more Chinese
groups have sided with Mr. Chan and his new, cautious approach to the
head tax question.
The issue has suddenly become an election hot button for
Chinese-Canadians across the country. It could cost Mr. Chan his
job, and the Liberals some important seats in Parliament.
The Chinese Canadian National Council says there are only four head tax
survivors in Canada. But there are an estimated 80,000 descendants and
thousands more Chinese-Canadians who feel compensation and an apology
are due.
Mr. Chan took up their cause and ran with the issue in Richmond during
the 1993 federal election campaign, his first. He was elected and made
a junior minister in Jean Chretien's Cabinet. A year later, he
recommended to Cabinet some form of redress and an apology to survivors
of the head tax. "I was shot down," he recalled.
He says an apology and compensation are never going to happen, at least as long as the Liberals are in power.
The NDP and the Bloc Quebecois have already called for a formal
apology, and last week Conservative leader Stephen Harper unexpectedly
jumped on the bandwagon.
The Tories, Mr. Harper noted in a statement, have "long recognized the
terrible historical wrong of the Chinese head tax. It is time for
Parliament and the Government of Canada to recognize this grave
injustice and to apologize for it."
The statement-- and the timing of its release, in an election campaign
-- smacked of political opportunism. But it pleased those Conservative
candidates locked in close battles with Liberals in B.C.'s crucial
Lower Mainland.
Darrel Reid is facing off against Raymond Chan in Richmond. "The head
tax issue is huge," said Mr. Reid, sitting in his Conservative war
room, a few blocks from Mr. Chan's own election headquarters. "It was
the only tax ever collected from a specific ethnic group in Canada. It
was wrong, and that has to be recognized."
Mr. Chan counters that making an official apology to head tax survivors
and their families will "open the floodgates" to "countless lawsuits
and financial responsibilities for other historical wrongs."
Besides, he says, the federal government has already figured a way to
address the issue without assuming unrestricted financial liabilities.
In February, Ottawa announced the $25-million Acknowledgement,
Commemoration and Education Program, aimed at recognizing "the
historical experiences of [all] ethnocultural communities impacted by
wartime measures and immigration experiences."
The money is to be shared among various Chinese-Canadian groups, along
with organizations representing other ethnic and cultural minorities.
"The ACE program is for the Italians, the Ukrainians, the Germans, the
Jews, the Sikhs," Mr. Chan explained. "Now the Croatians have asked to
participate. The blacks have come to participate. Everybody wants to be
part of it now."
The National Congress of Chinese Canadians is among the largest groups
in support of the ACE program. "The Chinese community stands united in
the cause of educating all Canadians about this tragic period in our
history," noted Ping Tan, the NCCC's executive co-chair.
But the program's one-size-fits-all approach doesn't sit well with thousands of Chinese-Canadians affected by the head tax.
"Mr. Chan used to support us, and now he has turned his back on us,"
said Sid Tan, a Vancouver resident and spokesman for the Chinese
Canadian National Council, which says it represents half of all head
tax survivors and their relatives. "It really sickens me. The money is
just going to go to Liberal friends. It's like a Chinese-Canadian
sponsorship scandal."
He says Chinese groups that supported the ACE program have already
submitted proposals for things such as commemorative rock gardens and
museums. His members, meanwhile, have asked for grant information but
have been ignored.
"There is a lot of anger over this," he said. "The Liberals bungled the
whole issue of redress and they have basically divided the Chinese
community."
It's an opening opposition parties are keen to exploit, and it has Liberals in B.C. on the defensive.
"I don't buy their little apology [demands] at all," Hedy Fry, the
Liberal MP for Vancouver Centre, told a local newspaper this week.
As for Mr. Chan, he'd rather discuss other issues, such as same-sex
marriage. His opponent, Darrel Reid, opposes it. A Mennonite, Mr. Chan
used to oppose gay marriage, too. Not anymore.
THE HEAD TAX REDRESS
Before election was called, government and 11 Chinese-Canadian groups
agreed to $2.5-million deal to set up educational and commemorative
projects related to the tax.
HISTORY
Ottawa imposed a $50 tax on all Chinese immigrants in 1885, after
completion of the Canadian Pacific railway. Tax was raised to $100,
then $500 in 1903 -- the equivalent of two years' pay. In 1923 a new
law effectively banned Chinese immigration. It was repealed in 1947.
OBJECTIONS
Chinese community says agreement bypassed some community groups and does not include an apology or compensation.
© National Post 2005
Wednesday, December 14

GLOBE & MAIL: HEAD TAX BECOME HOT BUTTON ELECTION ISSUE
by
Todd
on Wed 14 Dec 2005 10:59 AM PST
VANCOUVER
-- Injustices from more than a century ago have emerged as a surprising
election issue that could cloud the prospects of at least one Liberal
cabinet minister, and possibly two.
At issue is how best to
redress the racist government policy that exacted an expensive head tax
from Chinese immigrants to Canada from 1885 to 1923 and then shut the
door to all immigration from China until 1947.
Both Industry Minister David Emerson and Multiculturalism Minister
Raymond Chan are seeking re-election in ridings with many
Chinese-Canadian voters, and the federal government's refusal to
apologize and offer compensation for these long-ago policies is now a
huge topic within the ethnic Chinese community.
"It's all over the media," Sid Tan, the grandson of a head-tax payer and a long-time advocate of compensation, said yesterday
Mr. Tan said the controversy is going to hit Mr. Chan particularly
hard, since he argued for compensation in the past but had changed his
tune since joining the Liberal government.
But Mr. Tan predicted that Mr. Emerson's election chances could also
be hurt, with New Democrat rival Ian Waddell a strong supporter of
financial redress and an apology to those who paid the $500 head tax.
Mr. Chan has been the main defender of an agreement with a number of
Chinese-Canadian organizations to provide $2.5-million for programs
acknowledging the racism of the past.
But the deal provides no apology and no compensation for any of the
few surviving immigrants who paid the head tax, nor for any of their
families.
"Wrongs have been done, and we are going to document the stories and
make sure this never happens again," said Mr. Chan, whose Richmond
riding is more than 40 per cent ethnic Chinese.
"Every generation of Canadians has faced some sort of discrimination, historically. Are we going to compensate them all?
"I think the Chinese-Canadian community understands that the
important part is the government's acknowledgement that this was a
racist policy," he said.
Mr. Chan added that a formal apology would open up the possibility of class-action lawsuits against the government.
But last week, Conservative Party Leader Stephen Harper thought the
issue hot enough to overturn his party's previous support of the
Liberal position. Mr. Harper called on the government to apologize for
"the terrible historical wrong" of the hated head tax.
He further promised to negotiate with all groups, including Mr.
Tan's Chinese Canadian National Council, about the possibility of
financial redress.
His statement came just two days after Manitoba Tory MP Inky Mark,
who spearheaded a private member's bill on the head tax issue,
reiterated his agreement with the Liberals that an apology was a
"slippery slope" leading to a possible avalanche of legal claims.
"What [past governments] did was legal," he told reporters. "That
didn't make it morally right or ethical, but the fact was it was legal."
Mr. Harper, however, chose to respond to the entreaties of three
Conservative candidates in B.C. who urged him to revisit the issue.
Among them was Darrel Reid, Mr. Chan's Conservative opponent in
Richmond.
Also adding to the fuel yesterday was Chinese-Canadian commentator
Gabriel Yiu's demand for an apology from Mr. Chan over remarks he made
about Mr. Yiu in a radio interview. He denied making any misleading
statements as alleged by Mr. Chan, calling them defamatory and
unacceptable.
Mr. Chan laughed off Mr. Yiu's demand.
"He's trying to speak as a commentator and not telling people he was
an NDP candidate [in the past provincial election]. You cannot mislead
people like that."
He also brushed off any suggestion that the controversy was causing him political trouble.
"It's all orchestrated. If you look at the support of the
associations that have signed on to the agreement, it's historic. There
has never been so much wide support. I think Chinese-Canadian voters
understand."
Mr. Tan, meanwhile, said he intends to continue galvanizing "the
grandmas and the grandpas" to fight for an apology and, at the very
least, some repayment in recognition of the head tax they were forced
to pay alone among all immigrants to Canada.
"There is anger and frustration out there. It's not orchestrated, despite what Raymond Chan says. It's real."
Saturday, December 10

Prime Minister Paul Martin Should Meet Montreal Survivors of the Head Tax and Chinese Exclusion Act
by
Todd
on Sat 10 Dec 2005 12:23 PM PST
Chinese
Canadian Redress Alliance
For Immediate
Release: December 9, 2005
Prime
Minister Paul Martin Should Meet Montreal
Survivors of the Head Tax and Chinese Exclusion Act
MONTREAL/TORONTO. The Chinese
Canadian Redress Alliance (CCRA) called on Prime Minister Paul Martin to follow
the lead of Conservative Party Leader Stephen Harper, NDP Leader Jack Layton
and BLOC Leader Gilles Duceppe and support the call for an apology to and
redress for the victims of the Head Tax and Chinese Exclusion Act.
“Mr. Martin has adjusted his
schedule to be in Montreal
today to meet with former US President Bill Clinton. Yet he has been unwilling
to meet with one of his LaSalle constituents, Mr. James Wing, a surviving Head
Tax Payer,” Walter Tom, spokesperson for CCRA and Head Tax descendant said
today.
“Mr. Martin has called for
building an inclusive society. However, he continues to exclude the Head Tax
payers and families who are among the nation-builders of this country from any
redress settlement.”
The Head Tax was imposed by the
Canadian government from 1885 to 1923 and the Exclusion Act was imposed by the
Liberal government of the day in 1923 and lasted until 1947. CCRA supports the
Chinese Canadian National Council and redress-seeking groups who have
tirelessly sought redress on behalf of over 4000 redress claimants for more
than 20 years. “We call on Mr. Martin to meet with Mr. James Wing and to begin
a genuine reconciliation with the Head Tax payers and families,” Colleen Hua,
CCNC National President said today. “Mr. Martin has already acknowledged that
‘the Chinese Head Tax was a terrible thing.’ It’s time for Mr. Martin to commit
to good faith negotiations with the Head Tax payers and families and resolve
this longstanding issue in a just and honourable manner.”
Chinese Canadian Redress Alliance
is joined in the campaign for redress of the Head Tax and Chinese Exclusion Act
by CCNC and redress-seeking groups including the Ontario Coalition of Chinese
Head Tax Payers and Families, BC Coalition of Head Tax Payers Spouses and
Descendants, Association of Chinese Canadians for Equality and Solidarity
Society, and Metro Toronto Chinese and South East Asian Legal Clinic.
- 30 -
For more information, please
contact:
Walter Chi-Yan Tom, CCRA, (514)
341-3929
Ging Wee Dere, CCRA, (514)
488-0804
Victor Wong, CCNC Executive
Director, (416) 977-9871

Head Tax Redress debated in Cbinese Canadian Community on Saturday Dec 10
by
Todd
on Sat 10 Dec 2005 12:21 PM PST

Chinese
Canadian National Council
Media
Advisory: December 9, 2005
Head Tax
Redress Issue Debated in Chinese Canadian Community
TORONTO/VANCOUVER. Community
debates on the Head Tax redress issue will take place this weekend in Vancouver
and Toronto. This
follows Prime Minister Paul Martin’s recent public comment that “the Chinese
Head Tax was a terrible thing and I never want to see it happen again” and
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper’s statement yesterday “for Parliament and
the Government of Canada to recognize this grave injustice, and to apologize
for it.” All three Opposition Parties and the Green Party support redress of
the Head Tax and Chinese Exclusion Act.
Vancouver:
What: Vancouver AM1320 radio phone-in
program.
Participants include Dr. Joseph
Wong, Bill Chu and Thekla Lit.
When: Saturday (December 10) from 10:00 am – 12:00 noonPST
Where: AM1320 on Radio dial; callers should dial 604-280-1320
Toronto:
What: Public Forum co-organized by Toronto First Radio Station
and Toronto City Newspaper.
Speakers include: Avvy Go
(Ontario Coalition of Head Tax Payers and Families).
Commentators include: Cheuk Kwan.
When: Sunday (December 11)
from 2:30 pm - 4:00 pm EST; Radio Broadcast is available online on Monday
(December 12) at 9:30 p.m. at www.torontofirstradio.com
Where: Food Court of Market Village, Markham (near Kennedy and
Steeles)
“We applaud Vancouver's
CHMB 1320 Radio, Toronto First Radio and Toronto City News for their effort,”
Sid Tan, CCNC National Director and Head Tax descendant said today. “The
Liberals need to know the damage caused by their poor handling of the Head Tax
redress issue. We are expecting CCNC founding President Dr. Joseph Wong to call
in from Australia
to participate on Saturday.”
“Martin’s Government has been
unable to explain the accuracy of their list of so-called supporting
organizations or quell growing anger over the secretly negotiated
Head Tax deal,” Avvy Go, representing the Ontario Coalition of Chinese Head Tax
Payers and Families and human rights lawyer said today. “All Parties and
candidates need to know that Head Tax redress is a priority for the few
surviving Head Tax payers and families, for the Chinese Canadian community, for
Canadians and for Canada’s
human rights image."
“The Government needs to involve
the Head Tax payers and families and not exclude us,” George Lau, Co-Chair of
the Ontario Coalition of Chinese Head Tax Payers and Families and Head Tax
descendant said today. “Many of us will be at the Sunday Forum in Toronto
to voice our concerns and educate voters.”
CCNC is a national organization
with 27 chapters across Canada.
CCNC is joined in the campaign for redress of the Head Tax and Chinese
Exclusion Act by the Ontario Coalition of Chinese Head Tax Payers and Families,
BC Coalition of Head Tax Payers Spouses and Descendants, Chinese Canadian
Redress Alliance, the Association of Chinese Canadians for Equality and
Solidarity Society, and Metro Toronto Chinese and South East Asian Legal
Clinic.
-30-
For more information, please
contact:
Avvy Go, Ontario
Coalition of Chinese Head Tax Payers and Families, (416) 971-9674
George Lau (Chinese language
media), Ontario Coalition of Chinese Head Tax Payers and Families, (416)
588-1751
Sid Tan, CCNC National Director
(604) 433-6169; (604) 783-1853
Victor Wong, CCNC Executive
Director, (416) 977-9871
Friday, December 9

Harper reverses stand on Liberal redress for ‘racist’ head tax policy
by
Todd
on Fri 09 Dec 2005 03:09 PM PST
Harper
reverses stand on Liberal redress for ‘racist’
head tax policy
Conservative leader joins NDP and Bloc in demanding an apology for
Chinese-Canadians
BY PETER O ’NEIL
VANCOUVER SUN
OTTAWA —
Conservative leader Stephen Harper has reversed his position and is now calling
on the federal Parliament to apologize for its blatantly racist anti-Chinese
immigration laws from 1885 to 1947.
The Tories join the New Democratic Party and Bloc Quebecois in condemning as
inadequate a recent $2.5-million Liberal plan to recognize the historic
injustice but to not apologize or offer individual financial redress to victims
and their families.
“The
Conservative party has long recognized the terrible historical wrong of the
Chinese head tax, ”
Harper said in a written statement issued Thursday during an election campaign
stop in North Bay,
Ont.
“It
is time for Parliament and the government of Canada to recognize this grave
injustice, and to apologize for it. ”
The federal government collected $23 million in so-called head taxes —
essentially a fee paid for the right to immigrate to Canada — between 1885 and
1923, equal to more than $1.2 billion in today ’s dollars, from
about 81,000 Chinese immigrants, many of them impoverished.
>From 1923 to 1947 there was an outright ban on Chinese immigration. It was
the only time an immigration law specifically singled out a racial group,
although federal policies at various times restricted or banned certain groups —
most infamously when a “none is too many ”
approach was taken to desperate Jews fleeing Nazi Germany before and during the
Second World War.
Harper indicated he would leave the door open to financial redress when he said
a Tory government would attempt to negotiate with all groups.
It was a veiled a reference to the Chinese Canadian National Council ’s
exclusion from final negotiations on Liberal Multiculturalism Minister Raymond
Chan ’s
initiative. The CCNC insists on an apology and redress.
“A
Conservative government would work with the entire Chinese-Canadian community
to establish a consensus for reconciliation and redress, ”
Harper said.
Harper ’s
surprise announcement comes as the party plans an election advertising campaign
as early as next week in the Chinese media.
The CCNC, which has waged an aggressive campaign to discredit Chan ’s
$2.5-million initiative, said it was encouraged by Harper ’s
new stand.
“All
three opposition parties are now criticizing the government ’s
poor handling of the head tax redress issue during this important election
campaign, ”
CCNC executive director Victor Wong said following Harper ’s
announcement. “The
Liberals should commit to good-faith negotiations with the representatives of
head tax payers and families. ”
Harper had supported the position of party critics Bev Oda and Inky Mark, two
Tory MPs who pushed the Liberals to come up with the $2.5-million ACE —
Acknowledgement, Commemoration, and Education — initiative that was
announced days before the election campaign began, according to Oda, Mark, and
a party official in an e-mail earlier Thursday.
The two critics supported Chan ’s position that an
apology could open the door to costly legal claims by Chinese-Canadians and
other groups who believe they ’ve been subjected to
discrimination.
But at least three of Harper ’s B.C. candidates,
Darrel Reid, John Cummins and Kanman Wong, have broken from that position and
publicly called earlier this week for a new deal that includes at least an
apology and possibly compensation.
Oda, speaking after Harper ’s announcement, said she and Mark won
Harper ’s
support while working to advance their own private members ’
bills seeking some form of redress from a reluctant federal government.
She said her leader ’s
new position reflects a party platform stand for a future Tory government, and
takes into consideration the bitter divisions within Canada’s one million ethnic
Chinese.
“We ’ve
listened to the community, we understand that there ’s division here, and
what we ’re
going to suggest is that we ’re willing to sit down with the entire
community and try to find consensus, ” Oda said in an
interview.
Harper, in his statement, evoked the work of his MPs and candidates as he cited
the 1988 decision by former prime minister Brian Mulroney to provide more than
$300 million in 1988 to Japanese-Canadians treated as enemy aliens during the
Second World War.
“I
acknowledge the efforts of Conservative parliamentarians and candidates to
obtain a just redress of the head tax. These efforts are in keeping with the
historical achievement of a previous Conservative government in addressing the
unjust internment of Japanese-Canadians. ”
Mark, who said he ’s
been fighting for resolution of the issue since getting elected in 1997, voiced
some irritation earlier this week with the B.C. candidates who are calling for
an apology and redress.
“I
wish they ’d
talked to me first before they take a position, which none of them has done, ”
Mark said, adding: “Just
be careful what you promise. ”
Chan said this week that the government would open itself to costly lawsuits if
it started apologizing and offering financial compensation to any group
claiming victimization by past legal acts of Parliament.
In a statement issued Thursday, he said: “I am saddened that
Mr. Harper has chosen to play politics with such an important issue. ”
He added: “The
Liberal government had an arrangement with the opposition critic Bev Oda and
Inky Mark, the lead for the Conservative party on this file for the better part
of 10 years, on how to acknowledge this tragic part of Canadian history. It is
clear that Mr. Harper is not consulting with his own critics and members of his
own caucus who have a personal stake in this issue. ”
poneil@hotmail.com
Thursday, December 8

NDP CALLS ON GOVERNMENT TO PROVIDE FAIR DEAL FOR CHINESE HEAD TAX PAYERS
by
Todd
on Thu 08 Dec 2005 03:55 PM PST

Canada’s New Democrats
NDP
CALLS ON GOVERNMENT TO PROVIDE FAIR DEAL FOR CHINESE HEAD TAX PAYERS
Vancouver – NDP candidate for Vancouver
East, Libby Davies, along with her NDP colleagues, Mary Woo Sims (Port Moody
–Westwood- Port Coquitlam) and Ian Waddell
(Vancouver Kingsway) joined with families and representatives of Chinese head
tax payers to urge the Liberal government to find a compromise and fair deal
for all Chinese Canadian head tax payers and their families today.
“It’s upsetting to see the divisiveness the
Liberals have created on this issue in the Chinese Canadian community,”
said Davies. “We’re challenging the Liberal government’s
so-called “shared vision” to acknowledge past hardships for Chinese
Canadians through the Chinese head tax and exclusion legislation in a way that
unites the community rather than deliberately divides it.”
An initial amount of $2.5 million has been allocated to the
National Congress of Chinese Canadians in an agreement in principle through the
Acknowledgement, Commemoration and Education (ACE) Fund. The Liberals announced the deal with the
Congress in November, despite calls from several other organizations, such as
the Chinese Canadian National Council, to be involved in any commemorative,
educational or other key measures that may arise from the fund.
“It is completely unacceptable for the Liberal
government to exclude at least 4000 head tax payers, their families and
descendants through an agreement with only one part of the community,” said
Sims.
The NDP candidates are calling on the government to quash
the existing agreement in principle, go back to the table with all the relevant
groups, including key Chinese Canadian head tax payers, their families and
representatives, and find a compromise and fair deal for everyone.
“These families deserve an apology and real
respect from this government,” said Ian Waddell.
“For so many to be shut out at this point is too reminiscent of the head
tax itself.”
“This deal is going ahead without the families and
others who were at the forefront of the redress movement,” said Davies.
“The government has a responsibility to acknowledge the diversity of the
Chinese Canadian community and find a course of compromise.”
Former NDP MP Margaret Mitchell, a long time advocate for
human rights who was on hand for the news conference, was the first MP to ask
the government for an apology on behalf of a head tax payer in 1984. Libby
Davies tabled a motion in 2004, asking for an apology and redress for head tax
payers, their families and representatives.
The Canadian government collected $23 million from Chinese immigrants
to Canada between 1885 and 1923.
-30-
Contact: Meena Wong,
604-430-8600 ext. 257
Leanne Holt, 604-254-8863

Stephen Harper and Conservatives jump on the Head Tax apology band wagon
by
Todd
on Thu 08 Dec 2005 03:44 PM PST
Stephen Harper and Conservatives jump on the Head Tax apology band wagon
Yesterday
the Vancouver Sun and other media announced that 3 Conservative MP
candidates had broken away from the Conservative party platform on the
head tax issue. Led by MP Jim Cummins, (Delta-Richmond East) and
candidate
Here's a Canadian Press Story about the Conservatives now ganging up
with the NDP, and the Bloc Quebecois against the Liberal position.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics/CanadaVotes
/2005/12/08/1344746-cp.html
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 8, 2005
|