Calgary celebrates anniversary of Chinese Exclusion Act

Calgarians came together Saturday for a special ceremony to commemorate 100.^th The anniversary of the Chinese Immigration Act has restricted almost all Chinese immigration to Canada for decades.

Now known as the Chinese Exclusion Act, the 1923 law passed by the Canadian government was a reinforcement of the head tax introduced in 1885 after more than 17,000 Chinese laborers helped build the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Chinese immigrated to Canada initially had to pay a tax of $50, and in 1905 this figure rose to $500. The Chinese were also deprived of the right to vote, hold public office, own land or hold certain jobs.

“We are part of mainstream society. We built this country,” said Ronald Lee, who attended the ceremony in front of Calgary's Chinese Senior Citizens Association building.

Li's grandfather came to Canada to build the Pacific Railway and soon returned to China. After his grandfather returned to Canada, he needed $500 to re-enter the country.

“Millions of dollars were collected from China's head tax when there was no income tax in Canada. The Chinese paid taxes to the country.”

The head tax remained in place until 1923, when the government amended the Chinese immigration law, and the law was finally repealed in 1947.

For Chinese Canadians like Janet Yee, the Saturday commemoration brings back painful memories of her grandfather, Ning Fung Yee, who had to pay a $500 tax (about $8,000 in today's money) a month before the law was passed.

“We still have to deal with the racial injustice that's happening. The degree to which Chinese Canadians still struggle to be recognized as Canadians is part of Canada's founding history,” Yi said.

“It was almost 25 years in Canadian history (from 1923 to 1947) where no Chinese could go without paying this tax and we have to recognize the impact.”

Saturday's ceremony featured many speeches by dignitaries and members of Calgary's Chinese cultural community, but also included students learning about the Expost Act.

Erica McKinnon is an eighth-grader at Calgary's Chinatown Private School, who hopes her generation will recognize the injustices of the past.

“I think it's really unfair and unfair that some of this still happens today,” he said.

“I think our society has come a long way in this area, but we still have a lot of work to do.”