Chinese Immigration act of 1885
By: Julia Zahorouski
The Chinese Immigration act of 1885 placed a
head tax on all Chinese immigrants coming to Canada, forcing them to pay a 50
dollar fee to enter the country. In 1900 the fee was raised to 100 dollars
(Lots of money back then). In 1903 the amount was raised to 500 dollars! The equal
amount of two years wages, which was a small fortune to the Chinese immigrant s
as well as other Canadians at the time. Later another law was passed declaring
that only 1 Chinese immigrant for every 50 tons of the ship they were travelling
on for that one voyage could come over. That meant only 10 Chinese immigrants
could come to Canada on a ship that weighs 500 tons! That is not fair to the families
of the immigrant that came to Canada
because they would not be able to see their family again until they work and
earned enough money to either bring their family over or to move back to
wherever they came from.
The Immigration act was not fair to the
Charter rights and freedoms because they would not charge anyone else it was
just the Chinese Immigrants coming to Canada and it was an unfair total money
they had to pay it started out as 50 and in 8 years it got raised to 500
dollars even now that is quite a bit of money, imagine how much that would be
back then if you compared it to now that would cost about 5000 dollars instead
of 500!
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