Head Tax Families Draw Strength from Bitter Sweet Day

Call on Harper Government to Complete Inclusive Redress

Vancouver, BC – As the first anniversary of the Stephen Harper
Conservative government's unilaterally imposed settlement of the
racist Chinese head tax and exclusion legislation is near, Head Tax
Families Society of Canada (HTFSC) acknowledge a bitter sweet taste.
On June 22, 2006, Stephen Harper issued a parliamentary apology and ex
gratia payments – meaning without legal obligation - to surviving head
tax payers and spouses of deceased head tax payers.

The Harper government made a good first step then closed the door to
an inclusive just and honourable redress. The settlement excluded many
surviving direct victims such as elderly sons and daughters who often
were impoverished and endured family separation for decades. To date,
there have been about 600 eligible claimants representing
approximately 0.6% of the over 82,000 families who paid the tax and
suffered exclusion. Nearly 4,000 head tax families are excluded from
last year's redress announcement. HTFSC asks Stephen Harper to
urgently complete the redress by agreeing the Three Manifests are a
good roadmap to begin with.

The Chinese Canadian National Council, a leader of the redress
movement since its inception, as well as the HTFSC, which was formed
last year, and redress seeking groups across Canada believe a just and
honourable redress begins with these Three Manifests: 1) the
Government of Canada will recognize and acknowledge redress is
incomplete; 2) the Government of Canada will commit to good faith
negotiations with head tax families excluded from the June 22, 2006
settlement seeking direct redress; and 3) the Government of Canada
will act in the spirit of "one certificate one claim."

Our struggle continues, knowing our movement has outlasted many Prime
Ministers - the long Trudeau, Mulroney and Chretien governments and
the short ones of Turner, Campbell and Martin. Our struggle is to
continue to build a strong movement - one to outlast the Harper
government and all the others which follow until all head tax families
are treated with respect and dignity. Until this is achieved, the
remnants of the colonial white supremacist ideology will view the
Chinese in Canada as lacking strength and undeserving of justice and
honour. Future generations will suffer their ridicule and insults.

We are a species of ideas and language. HTFSC's ideas are about
justice, honour, respect and dignity for pioneer head tax families.
Our language is that of healing and reconciliation for head tax
families. We are Canadians engaged in the political process. We seek
an appropriate redress settlement as citizens with rights and the vote
in this big beautiful land we call Canada. We do so to affirm our love
for Canada

We are asking for what any Canadian would want - a fair value refund
of an unjust tax. No government, corporation and individual in Canada
should be able to profit from racism and keep the proceeds. We want a
Canadian identity of moral courage and righteousness with a boost to
making our Chinese adventurers and pioneers one of the distinguished
threads in the Canadian fabric.

The Head Tax Families Society of Canada is today's Canadians on a
twenty-three year struggle for an inclusive redress with justice and
honour for affected head tax families.

Go to www.headtaxfamilies.org for more information.