Photos by Don Dilley
Ice Sculpture of the proposed monument at Brandon City Hall ~ WinterFest 2010
1. Historical Background:
In the early 1880s, anti-Chinese sentiments were prevalent in all levels of the Canadian government. This resulted in the Chinese Immigration Act in 1885, stipulating that all Chinese entering Canada must pay a $50.00 fee. This was later referred to as a “head tax”.
The fee was increased to $100.00 in 1900 and $500.00 in 1903. The latter amount was equivalent to two-years wages at that time. Under such financial hardship, coupled with the cost of overseas transportation, many would-be immigrants were denied the opportunity to make a new life in Canada. Those who did immigrate had to sell their land, borrowed from family, or signed long contracts with labour contractors.
Only men from Toisan were able to manage these financial difficulties. Many of these men were employed in gold mines, helped build the Canadian Pacific Railroad through the Canadian Rockies, opened laundries, stores, and restaurants. These men worked hard to save money to support their families in China. Some managed to return to their homeland once every few years. Many of these men never made it home. They lived a lonely life and died in a foreign land.
The Chinese Immigration Act was repealed in 1947. In 2006, the Government of Canada apologized to Chinese Canadians for the discriminatory restrictions placed upon the Chinese immigrants, specifically, for the Head Tax and Exclusion Act. Furthermore, the government announced the need for “appropriate acknowledgement and redress” to honour the valuable contribution made to Canada by these immigrants.
Monetary compensation has been paid out to Head Tax survivors or to their surviving spouses.
A second component of the federal government’s apology is being provided through funding under the Community Historical Recognition Program (CHRP), which commemorates immigration restrictions in the past. In view of this, The Westman Chinese Association has applied for funds to build a monument in the Brandon Cemetery where many of those who paid the head tax are buried.
2. The Proposed Monument:
Original artist sketch of the proposed monumentThe proposed monument will be a bronze Chinese coin - five-feet in diameter. This symbol was chosen to represent the time (this type of coin was used in 1800 China) and economic reasons for immigration to Canada. There will be engravings on the coin to depict the history of the Chinese immigrants, as labourers who helped build the Canadian railroads, established businesses such as laundries and restaurants, and finally the unification of the Chinese families after 1947.
The bronze coin will sit on black marble. This represents the dark page of history due to the Exclusion Act and the Chinese Head Tax.
The granite for the monument foundation will be from Manitoba. This is to recognize that the Chinese immigrants have built solid foundations in Canada and Manitoba. The monument will be located in the Brandon Cemetery, facing East towards China. The site has been approved by the City of Brandon.
The inscription will prominent at the base of the coin, indicating the Chinese Head Tax link, both in Chinese characters and English.
The main purpose of this monument is to show how the Chinese have persevered and ultimately became good Canadian citizens in the face of restrictions such as discrimination and the Head Tax. It is hoped that such a visible lesson will help society to understand that every immigrant should be given the opportunity to establish a new life in this country.
3. Unveiling Ceremony:
We plan to hold the event on the Sunday June 24, 2012 at 1:00 pm. This would coincide with the traditional Ching Ming Festival in Brandon. The ceremony will include Ching Ming food offerings, burning of incense and token currency carried out in the traditional manner. As the head tax reimbursement was not officially presented to Western Manitoba’s only surviving spouse, we had hoped to have the "cheque" officially presented to Mrs. Soo Choy but she passed away, at age 101, on February 18, 2010. There will be a display of original official head tax certificates, photographs and documents accompanied by the descendents.Invitations will be sent to all federal, provincial, municipal, and civic dignitaries, The Chinese Embassy, and individual families who were directly affected by the head tax. The general public will be invited through news media, our website, and posters.
We had hoped to have Mrs. Soo Choy, Western Manitoba’s only living spouse of an immigrant who had paid the head tax, to unveil the monument.
Details will be fine-tuned over the months leading to the unveiling as our fundraising and planning progress.
Contact:
Kenny Choy
Sue-On Hillman