British Columbia To Apologise For Chinese Head Tax

In 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government apologized and made payments of $20,000 each to Chinese-Canadians who paid the head tax or their surviving spouses

B.C. to apologize for Chinese head tax. Apology for historical discrimination is supported by all parties in the legislature, and will be presented Thursday after an earlier effort was stalled by political scandal

 

Premier Christy Clark says an apology to Chinese-Canadians that is more than 140 years overdue will be offered Thursday in British Columbia’s legislature.

The apology has been endorsed by Clark’s Liberals, the Opposition New Democrats and the Green party, as well as Independent members of the legislature.
 

The issue goes back to B.C. and Canadian government policies, including a Chinese head tax, that targeted immigrants from 1872 to 1947, Clark said Wednesday.
 

Canada started charging a head tax in the late 1800s to discourage Chinese immigration. The B.C. government supported the head tax and accepted federal head tax payments.