Chinese head tax apology long overdue
By Jonathon Narvey on May 26, 2006 - 10:15pm
It's definitely a case of better late than never... but a century is pretty late by any standard.
Canadian
Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced in Vancouver on Thursday that
he will be apologizing for the head tax collected from Chinese
immigrants between 1885 and 1923 (For an article by Elianna Lev about
the announcement, click here).
A sad consequence of Canada being governed strictly by the rule of law is that governments may feel threatened by potential lawsuits when apologizing for atrocious behavior. Rather than run the risk of racking up multi-billion dollar legal fees and compensation (and ushering in unpopular taxes to pay for it), our elected officials would prefer to keep our dusty old skeletons in the closet.
It may well be that the government feels safe enough to apologize only because there are so few potential claimants left to collect compensation. But the Liberal government that preceded it can't have been faced with such a dramatic difference in numbers. The Conservatives should be commended for finally doing what's right.
