Has Canada always been fair when it comes to immigration?

Imagine being denied entry into where one was going because of how they got there. Although it seems unfair this was the case for several South Asians. Known to very few today, the continuous Journey Regulation had a major negative aspect on Canadian immigration.  The needless policy, developed in 1907, was used in order to keep South Asian immigrants out of Canada, as the Canadian government felt that the Indians were taking over their economy (Fine- Meyer- 11). However, this statement had no element of truth. In 1900 only 2000 Indians resided in Canada, which was low compared to the actual booming population (Vizcan Systems Corporation). The Continuous passage regulation was passed in 1907 and stated that only ships, which had sailed on a “continuous journey” from their homeland would be allowed to immigrate to Canada (Fine- Meyer- 11).  In other words, the ship had to travel all the way to Canada from its homeland without stopping in order to make it into Canada, something that was almost impossible due to the long distance. Canada didn’t want to accept South Asian immigrants but rather preferred immigrants from allied countries such as Britain and France. William Mackenzie King, who was prime minister at the time, knew that there was no direct water route from India to Canada (Fine- Meyer - 14) and thus developed the unnecessary policy hoping it, would successfully keep the undesired immigrants out. However, an Indian Ship known as the “Komataga Maru” managed to overthrow the policy and reached the shore’s of Vancouver on May 23rd, 1907 (Vizcan Systems Corporation).  The ship was occupied with 376 South Asian passengers, and only 24 of these passengers were accepted into Canada.  Indians felt betrayed by Canada, as they had just sailed a long, harsh 21-day journey and were denied entrance into the country (Vizcan Systems Corporation). Regardless of that, they fought for their justice; they lived in the ship until each and every member had a trial.  Immigration officers forbid the ship from storing up on Canadian food, and hoped that thirst and hunger would motivate the citizens to head back to India. On the whole, this policy made it extremely hard for South Asians to immigrate into Canada and was extremely unfair to them as it denied them entry.

The last immigration policy that was just as equally discriminating and unfair was known as the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923, also known as the exclusion act of 1923.  As the name itself suggests, the idea of “excluding” was a major part of this act, further proving to be prejudice and discriminatory. Throughout Canadian immigration history, the Chinese have faced a severe amount of hardships and cruelty and much of their discrimination and mistreatment comes up often in Canadian history. In the mid 19th century, during the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, thousands of Chinese men immigrated to Canada for work. However, once these men got there they were underpaid and forced to work in dangerous situations, which involved a tremendous amount of labor, opposed to white employees who were given easier jobs as well as a greater income.  After the Canadian Pacific Railway was complete, Canada no longer needed help from Chinese immigrants and therefore introduced the first ever-Chinese immigration act in 1885. The country brought thousands of Chinese immigrants to Canada, put them to work, used them to improve the economy, and then didn’t care about them whatsoever. The first Chinese immigration act created a head tax of $50 on every Chinese citizen who wanted to immigrate to Canada (Fine Meyer - 10). As years went by, the head tax increased dramatically, and by the year 1903 the head tax had became $500, which was 10 times greater than when it was first introduced in 1885. In doing this, Canada showed the whole world that the Chinese were unwanted in their “perfect” country (Fine- Meyer- 10). Later on in 1923 was when the Chinese suffered the worst, as they were not only discriminated but also put to shame.  Also referred to as “humiliation day”, the Chinese exclusion act was passed on July 1, 1923, and completely stopped any Chinese immigrant from entering Canada (Fine Meyer- 16). Why was this done?  The Chinese were viewed as unwanted as well as a threat to the economy. The Chinese exclusion act lasted for a total of 24 years, in which the population of Chinese in Canada went from 46,500 to 32,500 (The Canadian Encyclopedia).  After July 1st, 1923 Chinese immigrants residing in Canada had no freedom. They were forbidden to pursue a career of interest and were only allowed certain jobs. As one man said, “ If you were Chinese there were only two things you could do – run a laundry or a restaurant,” (Hodge- 27). This was particularly humiliating to Chinese men because these jobs were considered “female tasks”, meaning that in their minds Chinese men had the same social status as a woman during that time.

Immigration to Canada in the early 20th century was not always fair because of many discriminating policies including the war measures act of 1914, the continuous journey regulation and the Chinese immigration act. All these policies were unfair and biased as they discriminated against individuals because of their background. These people chose to immigrate to Canada in search of a better lifestyle and home, but were instead faced with unfairness and discrimination, as some weren’t even allowed entry into Canada. By making these rules, Canada completely went against its morals and value system as they treated people with none or little respect because of how they looked. Fortunately in present day, immigration is far from what it is used to be. Canada has opened up and become home to thousands of immigrants.  In fact, in 2010 Canada opened its doors to many refugees, including homosexuals who would have been executed in their home country. Although the immigration process is long and consists of application forms, fees, medical exams, police certificates, etc., it is fair and non –prejudicial and people who are denied entry into Canada are denied for valid reasons (Citizenship and Immigration Canada). Also, Canada has formally apologized for its discriminatory practices as Canada’s Prime Minister; Stephen Harper said, “We fully accept the moral responsibility to acknowledge these shameful polices of our past,” (Government Canada.)