12 October 2006
Head Tax Compensation to be Paid Soon: Harper
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Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper poses for a photo with
Canadian Chinese head tax survivors holding a copy of the government's official apology, in Ottawa, Thursday,
22 Jun 2006.
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Ottawa will begin to redress the head tax once applied to Chinese
immigrants with payments to survivors in the next few weeks, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said.
Speaking at a dinner hosted by a Chinese immigrant group, Harper said Tuesday it's important that this happen now while some of those
who paid the tax to enter Canada are still alive to receive the symbolic $20,000 payments.
Harper called the tax "a moral blemish on our country's soul".
Harper recognized contributions that the Chinese community has made, including building of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
He said Canada as it exists today wouldn't be possible without the efforts of the Chinese community.
The tax, which was set at $50 when it was imposed in 1885, rose to $500 in 1903 - then the equivalent of two years' wages.
Collection of the tax ended when the Exclusion Act came into effect in 1923, effectively barring immigration from China until it was
repealed in 1947.
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