(NAME-MCE) Bias in Canada

[Bill Howe]

In the midst of cleaning up paper & electronic files I ran across this from
a 1999 file. Although Canada is much more multicultural than the US in so
many ways, it still has a checkered past.

There were Japanese Canadian Internment camps, too.

The article makes reference to Adrienne Clarkson, who I believe was Canada's
second female Governor General. The current one is of African descent.

>>>  from http://www.cbc.ca/newsinreview/oct%2099/Boat%20People/Chi-Can.html

Our new Governor General, Adrienne Clarkson, is of Chinese descent and was
born in Hong Kong. To many Chinese-Canadians her appointment as
representative of the Canadian Head of State, the Queen, is a particularly
significant achievement, given the way in which Chinese immigrants to Canada
have been treated in the past. Many Canadians of Chinese descent, however,
have mixed feelings about the recent arrival of Chinese migrants on British
Columbia's shores. On the one hand, they understand the desire to flee a
life of economic hardship and limited personal freedom. On the other hand,
some fear the arrival of these migrants will result in a backlash against
the Chinese-Canadian community in general. The vast majority of
Chinese-Canadians entered the country legally and have been productive,
hard-working members of Canadian society, despite the fact that their
ancestors faced very serious discrimination in Canada over the years.

As you read the following information, make written notes of discriminatory
attitudes and laws that Chinese-Canadians faced in this country. What
relevance, if any, do you feel this historical information has to the
current story about illegal migrants?

*A Cheap Pool of Labour*
Chinese immigrants first became in demand after slavery was abolished in the
United States. Wealthy farmers and businessmen in the United States found
that poor, landless Chinese men from Guangdong and Fujian provinces could be
convinced to move to the U.S. to do the hard, back-breaking work that used
to be done by African slaves. Some of these Chinese men immigrated to Canada
when gold was found in British Columbia's Fraser River Valley in 1858. These
Chinese prospectors moved north to Canada in hopes of making more money than
they were earning in the U.S. Once here, the Chinese found that they were
only allowed to mine after the white prospectors had extracted as much gold
as they wanted from the mines. Not surprisingly, there was very little gold
left when the Chinese finally were allowed access to the mines. However, by
1860, other Chinese had begun arriving in British Columbia directly from
China.

*Railway Workers*
In addition to seeking gold, 17 000 Chinese men also found work building the
western section of the Canadian Pacific Railway. This was extremely
difficult and dangerous work. Tunnels had to be blasted through the
mountains, and railway track had to be laid down high above many rivers and
gorges. The arduous work involved huge amounts of rock being moved by hand,
and the Chinese began to be known as "coolies" (bitter strength). In all,
over 700 Chinese men lost their lives building the railway. And sadly, the
Chinese workers were only paid half as much as white workers doing the same
job. The only other work that the Chinese were allowed to do at this time
was to work as cooks and launderers. This work was seen as "women's work,"
and therefore was poorly paid; and it did not threaten the white male
workers.

Although the Chinese were tolerated in Canada when their labour was in
demand, as soon as the railway was completed in 1885 the Chinese were
mistreated to an even greater extent. Thousands of labourers were laid off
from the railway, and the Canadian government imposed a $500 head tax on any
Chinese person wanting to enter Canada. The Chinese were the only ethnic
group that had to pay such a tax.

*Soldiers In Transit*
In the first half of the 20th century the Chinese faced continued
discrimination. During the First World War, close to 80 000 Chinese soldiers
were transported from China to B.C. and then sent across Canada and finally
to the trenches of France. It turned out that China had made a deal with its
Western allies to provide men for the allied war effort. When the men were
returned to China by the same route at the conclusion of the war, they were
transported in sealed railway cars to prevent them from sneaking into Canada
and avoiding the $500 head tax.

*Years of Humiliation*
Conditions did not improve for Chinese-Canadians following the First World
War. On July 1, 1923, the Canadian government passed The Chinese Exclusion
Act, which prevented any further Chinese immigration to Canada. With the
passing of this act, the Chinese became the only people that Canada
specifically excluded on the basis of race. During the next 25 years more
and more laws against the Chinese were passed. Most jobs were closed to
Chinese men and women, so many Chinese opened their own restaurant and
laundry businesses. In British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Ontario, Chinese
employers were not allowed to hire white females, so most Chinese businesses
became Chinese-only.

During the Great Depression, life was even tougher for the Chinese than it
was for other Canadians. In Alberta, for example, Chinese-Canadians received
relief payments of less than half the amount paid to other Canadians. And
because The Chinese Exclusion Act prohibited any additional immigration from
China, the Chinese men who had arrived earlier had to face these hardships
alone, without the companionship of their wives and children. Census data
from 1931 shows that there were 1240 men to every 100 women in
Chinese-Canadian communities. To protest The Chinese Exclusion Act,
Chinese-Canadians closed their businesses and boycotted Dominion Day
celebrations every July 1st, which became known as "Humiliation Day" by the
Chinese-Canadians.

Canada was slow to lift the restrictions against the Chinese-Canadians and
grant them full rights as Canadian citizens. Because Canada signed the
United Nations Charter of Human Rights at the conclusion of the Second World
War, the Canadian government had to repeal The Chinese Exclusion Act, which
contravened the UN Charter. In that same year, 1947, Chinese-Canadians were
finally granted the right to vote in federal elections. But it took another
20 years, until the points system was adopted for selecting immigrants, that
the Chinese began to be admitted under the same criteria as any other
applicants.

-- 
Bill Howe

Travel to China - June 1-14, 2008 - Teachers & Health Care Professionals -
http://www.billhowe.org/China2008.htm

Web - http://www.billhowe.org
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