Group honoured for work on Chinese head-tax issue

The Toronto arm of a Chinese- Canadian national group shut out by the federal government in an agreement on redress for the discriminatory “ head tax” once faced by Chinese immigrants has been honoured by city council for its tireless advocacy on the issue. The Chinese Canadian National Council, Toronto chapter, yesterday received the William P. Hubbard Award for Race Relations, one of 13 human rights honours presented by Mayor David Miller and councillors to mark United Nations Human Rights Day on Dec. 10.

“ It’s hard to do advocacy work, and we are happy that our effort is recognized by the city. We’ve been very active on the head- tax issue, fighting for justice for the head- tax payers and families over the last two decades,” Lele Truong, the group’s co- chair, said in an interview.

“ It’s disappointing that no one had talked about the head tax all these years until the recent controversy over the government’s handling of the redress.” The council, which represents 4,000 members of families affected by the tax, was excluded from the “ no apology, no individual compensation” deal announced last week. The $2.5 million agreement, hammered out with 15 community groups led by the National Congress of Chinese Canadians, will see the creation of a Chinese- Canadian Community Foundation to develop “ acknowledgment, commemoration and education” programs. The council was created in 1979 to protest perceived racism in a story on CTV’s W5 about the influx of Chinese students in Canadian medical schools. Its work ranges from social planning research and youth leadership programs, to promoting election participation. The award is named for Toronto’s first African- Canadian councillor. Born in 1842 to a former slave, William P. Hubbard served for 15 years between 1894 and 1913, at times as acting mayor. He championed public water and power systems, persuaded the city to acquire the Toronto Islands, and supported Chinese laundry owners against attempts to tax them out of business.