discrimination in Canada During the 20th century By Alyssa Sayers

What is racism/discrimination? Racism/Discrimination is a term used when a person is being prejudice against someone who is of a different race, religion, or ethnicity, believing that they are superior to all other cultures.

Chinese Immigrant Act The Chinese Immigration Act started in 1885 and ended in the year 1967. It was revoked in 1947, but the restrictions lasted for another 20 years. The Chinese Immigration Act was spread over time and lasted from 1885 until 1967. The first main act was the “Chinese Head Tax,” where most Chinese Immigrants were forced to pay a duty of $50 dollars to enter Canada. As the years went on, the entrance fee started to majorly increase and their political/economical rights lowered. In 1923, the Chinese Immigration act was made which put a halt to all Chinese Immigrants except for business people, clergy, educators, and students. Discrimination against Chinese Immigrants lasted for more than 50 years. The Chinese Immigrants were the ones who were targeted throughout the Chinese Immigrant Act. The main reason why the Chinese were targeted was because Canada thought they would overrun the government and take over. They thought that if they continued to raise the fees for entrance into Canada, they would be able to increase protection and limit immigrants from entering into Canada. This impacted the Chinese Immigrants because most of the population was denied from entering into Canada and the government forced work labour on the Chinese Immigrants such as the Southern and Northern Pacific Railroads (transcontinental railroads). The Economy went down and the government started taking away certain rights (right to vote, right of speech, and right of freedom/immigration). After World War 2 ended and the Chinese Immigration Act was revoked, the government started focusing on the importance of Chinese Immigrants and gave them certain rights (to vote, to have freedom of speech, and to live as a Canadian Citizen). The Chinese Immigration Act brought discrimination upon the population of Chinese immigrants who were severely restricted to economic, social and community development for 24 years. After the Second World War, the government revoked discriminatory legislation, gave them the right to vote and created the establishment of the Canadian Citizenship Act in 1947. These were the first steps to increased involvement into Canadian life. The Chinese Canadians could now assume their rightful place as proper Canadian Citizens.

Indian act The Indian Act started in 1867, and ended in 1996 when the residential schools were abolished. There are still rules of the act that are ongoing but the discrimination within these laws decreased Immensely. The Indian Act was spread over time. It started out with laws such as taking away their reserves/property and restricting them from marrying Non Status Indians. As the years went on, the Act became more discriminative. The Federal Government’s role was to assimilate and convert their culture, so they created residential schools. They would take children away from their families and sent to schools where they were taught under severe discipline and torture. The Indigenous and First Nations Peoples were the ones who were targeted during the “Indian Act.” The Metis and Inuit weren’t because they weren't complete Aboriginals. They were targeted because the government believed they didn’t have the same values and rights as they did. The government believed this act would protect the Native population. He thought that their traditions, values, and ways of life were represented by evil. The government wanted to assimilate and convert all First Nations into European culture so he created a law with a set of rules and restrictions. The Federal Government gained control of reserve lands, sent children to residential schools, and took away most of their rights to freedom. The government offered certain rights due to the harshness of the act: right to own land, right to vote, and right to buy alcohol. Status Indians also weren’t allowed to befriend or marry a Non Status Indian. Racism was shown a lot during these times within the First Nations culture. The outcome mainly came from the residential schools that the Aboriginal children were sent to. The survivors from the schools had their mindset changed due to lack of parenting and care. They ended up having children and treated them with discomfort and abuse. Their treatment in the school was passed on to their children and it ended up intergenerational. After the Indian Act, First Nations Peoples were given many stereotypical names by people. They were called drunks, abusive, and violent. These terms were created by the stories of the Residential schools and Indian Act treatment upon them. Today, the act still stands, but the laws that are initiated, are less racist and give more freedom to Aboriginal peoples.

Japanese Canadian internment The Japanese Canadian Internment Act started on December 7, 1941 and ended in the year,1949. The Act occurred after the Invasion of Hong Kong, Invasion of Malaya, and the attack on Pearl Harbour. It was an event spread over time as there was discrimination against Japanese-Canadians for a while. The main act happened during the internment after the attack, the government tried to kick them out of the country. The Canadians thought that the Japanese-Canadians would steal their jobs so they used every accusation possible to force removal. This went on for 9 years, but the discrimination against them was for a longer period of time. The Japanese-Canadians were targeted during the “Japanese- Canadian Internment Act.” Discrimination between the government and the Japanese–Canadians was going on for a long time before the act happened in the 20th century. The reason why they were targeted was because of an accusation made by Canadians after the attack on Pearl Harbour. They seized an opportunity to get rid of their population by accusing them of being spies and saboteurs for Tokyo. They called for drastic action to protect the West Coast. Over 22,000 Japanese–Canadians from British Columbia were forced to evacuate their businesses and homes after the events in China. Canada decided to have a declaration of war against Japan which forced them to relocate. They had to obey government-enforced curfews, interrogations, job/property loss, and forced vacating from Canada. This resulted in some of the Japanese–Canadians having to move back to Japan. The government funded a relocation program and sold the people’s properties. They were ripped away from their homes and were sent to internment camps/farms in the BC interior and across Canada. After the incident lasted for several years, the government decided to end the act. September, 1988, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney signed an agreement to recompense the Japanese-Canadians for the removal of property and being forced into internment. He was sympathetic towards them and opened negotiations in the mid 1980’s. The government created a Canadian settlement which included an official apology, a redress payment of $21,000 to each surviving individual affected by the policy, a community fund of $12 million, and funding for a Canadian Race Relations Foundations to support human rights projects. There were no lasting events that happened after the “Japanese- Canadian Internment Act.”

Discrimination in Canadian society today? Discrimination in Canadian society is still an ongoing problem but isn’t a major issue. Stereotypes are still popular and some given rights aren’t allowed… but that’s not Canada. The country has changed over the years. We are now more multicultural than ever and accept all equality. We have very few acts and the government is trying to unite many people within the population. There are still a few people who are racist in Canada, but the majority of our country are diverse and accept anyone who is of different ethnic background, culture, and religion. Discrimination in Canadian society today?

Citations https://www.philosophytalk.org/blog/getting-rid-racism www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/chinese-immigration-act/ http://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/21-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-indian-act-1.3533613 https://www.britannica.com/event/Jim-Crow-law http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/chinese-immigration-act/ https://pier21.ca/research/immigration-history/the-chinese-immigration-act-1885 https://courses.lumenlearning.com/ushistory2os2xmaster/chapter/the-impact-of-expansion-on-chinese-immigrants-and-hispanic- citizens/ http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/japanese-internment-banished-and-beyond-tears-feature/ https://humanrights.ca/blog/japanese-canadian-internment-and-struggle-redress http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/internment-of-japanese-canadians/ https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/the_indian_act/ laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/i-5/ http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/indian-act/ Citations