By CBC News | Link to Article
The Chinese community in B.C. received a formal apology today from the provincial government for historical policies that once targeted immigrants and residents.
By CBC News | Link to Article
The Chinese community in B.C. received a formal apology today from the provincial government for historical policies that once targeted immigrants and residents.
The apology, which was introduced by Premier Christy Clark on Thursday morning, aims to recognize and make amends for 160 historical racist and discriminatory policies imposed in B.C., such as denying Chinese immigrants the right to vote and charging them a head tax to immigrate.
Clark said the B.C. government supported the head tax and even took payments, so time has been set aside on Thursday for MLAs to debate and pass a motion officially apologizing for those measures.
“While the governments which passed these laws and policies acted in a manner that [was] lawful at the time, today this racist discrimination is seen by British Columbians — represented by all members of the legislative assembly — as unacceptable and intolerable,” Clark told the legislature.
“We believe this formal apology is required to ensure that closure can be reached on this dark period in our province’s history.”
“The entire legislative assembly acknowledges the perseverance of Chinese Canadians that was demonstrated with grace and dignity throughout our history while being oppressed by unfair and discriminatory historical laws.
“Moreover, we acknowledge the overwhelming contribution by Chinese Canadians to British Columbia’s culture, history and economic prosperity.
No compensation offered
There was no individual compensation offered as part for the apology, but Clark did announce the government would put $1 million into a legacy fund that would be used to fund educational initiatives.
Clark said the apology was formulated after nearly a year of hearings on the issue, which included debate on whether compensation should be offered.