Address by the Prime Minister at a reception for members of the Chinese Community

Notes for an Address by
The Right Honourable Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada

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Good afternoon.

Honoured guests.

Colleagues from the House of Commons and the Senate.

Canadians.

It gives me great pleasure to be with you here today.

Before I begin, I would like to take a moment to offer my thanks to the surviving head tax payers, their spouses, and the large number of family members who are with us here today. 

I know many of you have travelled great distances to join us, and we are grateful that you have made the journey to witness this important day.

I would also like to offer my gratitude to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, the Honourable Bev Oda, and to my Parliamentary Secretary, Jason Kenney.

Today’s apology is in no small part due to their hard work and determination to see us right this historic wrong.

Today is an important day.

– One on which we turn the page on a sad period of our history.

– Allow for the healing of our national conscience to begin.

– And move forward as one nation.

Canada is a great country.

Strong, united, independent and free.

A nation that is:

– Prosperous.
– Diverse.
– Beautiful.
– And fair.

It’s why so many have come to our land.

And why so many more seek to come here.

But at times in our history, we, like others, have made mistakes.

Sometimes serious ones.

When this occurs, it is necessary to own up to the fact. 

That is what our government did today by issuing a formal apology to the Chinese-Canadian community for the head tax.

– And by expressing our deepest regret for the exclusion act. 

As I said in the House of Commons a short while ago,
gar nar dai doe heem.

The measures were shameful.

They separated families.

They caused great financial hardship.

And they discriminated against people – for no reason other than they were different.

– People who had made the difficult decision to leave behind their loved ones and their homeland for a country halfway around the world.
A tremendous sacrifice by any measure.

And one for which they were neither commended nor thanked.

But rather, punished.

These proud, hard-working Chinese newcomers were subjected to the humiliation of having to pay a head tax.

The head tax may lie decades back in our past.

But its effects linger on in the Chinese-Canadian community to this day.

A fact that was powerfully conveyed to me when I met with a group of head tax survivors recently in Vancouver. 

The experiences and memories shared affected me deeply.

Theirs were stories of:

• Sacrifice;

• Deprivation and determination; as well as

• Triumph over adversity.

These people came to Canada to work hard and to have a better life.

And in so doing, to help build a stronger, better Canada for all of us.

Over the years, Chinese-Canadians have amassed an enviable record of accomplishments.

A fact I am reminded of as I stand here in the railway room, which served as the home for the parliamentary committee that dealt with railways.

A place that is particularly fitting since Chinese workers played such a large role in the building of Canada’s railways.

The most important being the Canadian pacific.

Begun in 1881, and completed four years later, this transcontinental link was the iron backbone that bound our fledgling country together.
It was largely responsible for the settlement of the west.

And it played a key role in the development of the Canadian economy.

Simply put, the Canadian pacific railway helped make the Canada we know today.

And its construction would not have been possible without the efforts of thousands of Chinese labourers.

These men, however, were not thanked.

Nor were their labours commended.

Rather, in an attempt to deter further Chinese immigration, the government of the day implemented the head tax. 

To try and keep them out.

It was an unconscionable act.

An act for which Canadians are deeply sorry.
Canada is infinitely richer because of the contributions Chinese-Canadians have made and continue to make. 

From Vancouver, through the Prairies, to Toronto, Montréal and beyond, Canadians of Chinese descent have strengthened every community in which they have settled.

Your work ethic.

Your commitment to family and country.

Your spirit of entrepreneurship.

These are the qualities that have helped shape Canada in the past, and will lead us forward in the 21st century.

A country that is strong.

One that is independent.

And one that is confidently taking its rightful place on the international stage.

But before we can all move forward together as Canadians and achieve our full potential, we must first lay to rest the past wrong of the head tax. 

Today’s apology – along with individual and community redress actions - will not erase the painful memories for which these past measures are responsible. 

But it will allow for the healing process to begin.

– Allow us to unshackle ourselves from the burden of the past.

– So we can join together in moving Canada forward. 

I sincerely hope today’s apology will provide you with some measure of closure.

And a sense that justice has finally been done.

Thank you. 
God bless Canada.