Ebook: Being chinese in Canada: the struggle for identity, redress and belonging
Author: Dere William Ging Wee
- Tags: Chinois--Canada--Conditions sociales, Chinois--Canada--Histoire, Chinois--Canada--Moeurs et coutumes, Chinois--Identité ethnique--Canada, Dere William Ging Wee -- 1949-, Chinois -- Canada -- Histoire, Chinois -- Canada -- Conditions sociales, Chinois -- Canada -- Moeurs et coutumes, Chinois -- Identité ethnique -- Canada, Canada -- Relations interethniques
- Year: 2019
- Publisher: Douglas and McIntyre
- City: Canada
- Language: English
- epub
After the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed in1885—construction of the western stretch was largely built by Chinese workers—the Canadian government imposed a punitive head tax to deter Chinese citizens from coming to Canada. The exorbitant tax strongly discouraged those who had already emigrated from sending for wives and children left in China—effectively splintering families. After raising the tax twice, the Canadian government eventually brought in legislation to stop Chinese immigration altogether. The ban was not repealed until1947.
It was not until June22,2006, that Prime Minister Stephen Harper formally apologized to the Chinese Canadian community for the Government of Canada's racist legacy. Until now, little had been written about the events leading up to the apology. William Dere'sBeing Chinese in Canadais the first book to explore the work of the head tax redress movement and to give voice to the generations of Chinese Canadians...