CCNC releases Election Primer for Chinese Canadians urging them to vote and make a difference
Chinese
Canadian National Council
News
Release: December 23 2005
Chinese
Canadians Launch 2006 Election Primer; Urges Community To Vote
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.”
The youth vote is important in this
election if we want an elected government that reflects all aspects of Canadian
society. “Currently International Students are being directed to
contact their local Embassy for assistance in the case of an emergency,”
Christine Li, Co-Founder of the Chinese Canadian National Youth Council said
today. “What is the federal government’s responsibility to
safeguard and attend to the well-being of thousands of international students
living away from home?”
NGOs face a funding crunch every year due
to the elimination of core funding some years ago. “Actually, it was
then-Finance Minister Paul Martin who delivered that lump of coal a few years
ago,” Victor Wong, CCNC Executive Director said today.
“Community-based organizations contribute greatly to society by promoting
positive social change and their efforts should be supported by the
Parties.”
CCNC is a national human
rights organization with 27 chapters across
-30-
For media interviews with Chinese
Canadian National Council, please contact
Colleen Hua (647) 299-1775
Sid Tan (604) 783-1853
2006 CCNC ELECTION PRIMER
Instead of gratitude, the government
imposed the head tax on all new Chinese immigrants – $50 in 1885,
increased to $100 in 1900 and finally $500 in 1903. In all, $23 million in head
taxes was paid. Finally, in 1923, the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed to stop
Chinese immigration altogether until the legislation was repealed in 1947.
Question
1:
Do you support an all-party Parliamentary resolution to acknowledge the
injustice and racial discrimination, and to recognize the suffering of
individual Chinese Canadians, their families, and the entire Chinese Canadian
community that resulted from this legislated racism, including the emotional
and financial hardship, and the forced separation of families?
The Chinese Canadian National Council
(CCNC) started in 1984 to campaign for redress for the 62 years of legislated
racism. Over 4,000 head taxpayers and families registered with CCNC across
Question
2:
Do you support the return of a symbolic amount to the approximately 250
surviving head tax payers and surviving spouses?
In its 2005 federal budget, Prime
Minister Paul Martin’s government set aside $25 million to address
redress claims from several communities but it set preconditions on the
so-called Acknowledgement, Commemoration and Education [ACE] program: “no
apology, no compensation”. Despite widespread opposition, the government
rushed to sign an agreement in principle to allocate $2.5 million from the ACE
program to the National Congress of Chinese Canadians which accepted the
preconditions but which does not represent head tax families.
Question
3:
Will you rescind the agreement in principle signed with the Congress and stop
payment on the $2.5 million ACE program funds identified therein?
The process of reconciliation cannot
begin until the federal government deals directly with those most affected: the
head tax families. It must also negotiate in good faith with groups that the
head tax families themselves chose to represent them, not those that the
government chooses for them.
Question
4:
Do you support good-faith negotiations with the representatives of head tax
families as to the nature and extent of redress for the impact of 62 years of
legislated racism on head tax families and the Chinese Canadian community as a
whole, including a transparent and legitimate process of gathering input from
the head tax families and the broader Chinese Canadian community?
IMMIGRATION
It is unfair and discriminatory that
there are serious backlogs in processing immigration and sponsorship
applications in
Question
5:
What would your Party do to reduce the long waiting time for these applicants?
Many Canadians feel that the current
point system is too stringent and screens out many qualified applicants. Its
emphasis on language capability discriminates against immigrants who are not of
Francophone or Anglophone background. In addition,
Question
6:
What is your Party's plan to reduce barriers to independent immigrants to
INTERNATIONAL
STUDENTS
This past summer, international students
attending university in St. John, New Brunswick, were attacked by local youth;
the story making national headlines. The Canadian Government for all its good
intentions, has not been effective in curtailing the growing number of violent
incidents targetted at international students. Recently, two
international students were shot to death in
Question
7:
What is your Party's policy on the role of the Canadian Government in guarding
the well-being of International Students after they enter
CORE
FUNDING
Community-based organizations no longer
receive core funding for their daily operations and staffing resources which
has significantly impeded the participation of organizations in supporting
social change and community capacity building. While transparent
processes and accountability are important, it is also important that the
government recognize and acknowledge the contribution of non-profit
organizations in maintaining and sustaining a stable, healthy Canadian
society. Project funding is time limited, targetted, and does not
acknowledge the infrastructure needed to implement and deliver results.
Question
8:
What will your Party do to restore core funding to community-based
organizations?
HEALTH
Health care is a right of every Canadian,
but many people living in Canada, who are not citizens, continue to contribute
to the growth and development of Canada’s economic system while waiting
to be naturalized.
Question
10: What will your Party do to ensure that people who are not
citizens living in
Question
11: What will your Party do to work towards the recognition and
resourcing of different approaches to health care?
EMPLOYMENT
There is a built in assumption that our
immigration eligibility criteria matches the needs of the country, particularly
with respect to employment opportunities. Because of a lack of
coordination and resources on the part of the government, many newcomers who
are successful in their applications to come to
Question
12: What will your Party do to ensure that a plan is developed
and implemented to facilitate and expedite the accreditation process for
internationally trained professionals?
Partial
List of Federal Candidates of Chinese Descent (2006 Election)
Bloc
Quebecois
New
Democratic Party
Olivia
Chow
Mary-Woo
Sims
Helen
Yum
