About 80 years after the Chinese head tax, Ottawa has
agreed to pay $12.5 million dollars in compensations to the descedants of those Chinese workers who were afflicted by the tax.
The federal government imposed a $50 head tax on Chinese immigrants in 1885 after Chinese workers were no longer needed to work on the Canadian Pacific Railway.
The amount was raised to $500 in 1903. In 1923 the head tax was replaced by the Exclusion Act, which barred Chinese immigrants from the country altogether until 1947. The tax was the equivalent of about two years' wages at the time. About 80,000 Chinese were singled out.
As a Chinese Canadian, I'm happy with this announcement as it acknowledges the past and is a sign of the growing voice and community of Chinese Canadians. Incidently, this announcement is about 3 weeks after a lecture I attended regarding
the history of Chinese Canadians.
chinese canada canadians history cbc