Federal Government and Chinese Immigration

Chinese immigration: The head tax, implemented by the federal government in 1885 to control Chinese immigration, was only one in a string of acts that singled out Chinese people. In fact, one draft of the government apology included a list of more than four dozen government acts that discriminated against them. , according to Times Colonist. Those Chinese who did stay here were banned from most occupations. If they started their own businesses, they were prohibited from hiring white workers. An apology cannot change history, but acknowledgment and disavowal of past evils can help shape a better future. As the B.C. government apologizes for the racism that created the Chinese head tax, it is long past time for this newspaper to acknowledge its predecessors role in fomenting intolerant attitudes and policies. The head tax was a response to fears that Chinese workers brought to work on the Canadian Pacific Railway would stay and take jobs from whites. It charged individuals $10 for the right to land in Canada, but that fee rose to $500 by 1903. B.C. governments were happy to take their share of the revenue. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.