Minister Oda Invites Canadians to Celebrate Canada!

OTTAWA, June 22, 2006 - Prime Minister Stephen Harper today offered a full apology for the Head Tax imposed on Chinese immigrants entering Canada between 1885 and 1923, and Newfoundland until 1949. He expressed his deepest sorrow for the subsequent Chinese Immigration Act.

"For over six decades, these race-based measures, aimed solely at the Chinese, were implemented with deliberation by the Canadian state," said the Prime Minister. "This was a grave injustice, and one we are morally obligated to acknowledge."

The Prime Minister stated that the Government of Canada will make symbolic ex-gratia payments to those who were required to pay the Head Tax and who are still alive today, and to the surviving spouses of deceased Head Tax payers. It will also establish funds for national and community projects aimed at acknowledging the impact of past wartime measures and immigration restrictions on ethno-cultural communities.

"We have the collective responsibility to build a country based firmly on the notion of equality of opportunity, regardless of one's race or ethnic origin," concluded the Prime Minister.

In response to the Prime Minister's apology, Canadian Heritage Minister Beverley Oda remarked, "With today's apology the Government is following through on its promise to the Chinese-Canadian community, one which was subjected to a unique situation. My Department will work hard in the coming months and years to strengthen the sense of inclusion of Chinese-Canadians, and indeed of all communities in Canada."