Chinese Head Tax

Chinese Head Tax

Hon. Paul Martin, House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6

Prime Minister Martin,

We write to express our deep disappointment in the decision of your government to sign a back-door, $12.5 million agreement of redress for Chinese Canadians that effectively ignores the wishes of thousands of head tax payers and their families.

It is completely inadequate for this government to exclude at least 4000 head tax payers, their families and descendants through a lump sum agreement with only one organization.

We are calling on you to find a course of compromise that will address the needs of the diverse community of Chinese Canadians that must be acknowledged here.

The Acknowledgement, Commemoration and Education (ACE) Fund was established for all communities to access. We believe the appropriate course of action is to ensure that a significant portion of the $12.5 million should be used for individual compensation for the families of head tax payers that have been so instrumental in bringing this issue forward. The remaining ACE funds should be spent on education and commemorative measures, administered either through the Canada Race Relations Foundation or a coalition foundation with representatives from the Chinese Canadian National Council, the Ontario Coalition of Head Tax Payers and Families and the National Congress of Chinese Canadians.

In a further act of good faith, we ask that members of the Chinese Canadian National Council be invited to attend the announcement of the agreement this Wednesday, November 23.

Finding a compromise to address the injustices committed against Chinese immigrants to Canada over a period of decades is of utmost importance and we look forward to working toward a solution to this problem.

Sincerely,

Jack Layton
Jack Layton MP,
Toronto-Danforth

Libby Davies
Libby Davies MP,
Vancouver East

Peter Julian
Peter Julian MP,
Burnaby-New Westminster

Bill Siksay
Bill Siksay MP,
Burnaby-Douglas

somekindofadmin – Page 2

Speaking Out on the Environment

Speaking Out on the Environment

Ms. Libby Davies (Vancouver East, NDP): – Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Environment Minister.

Tomorrow, Parliament will vote on the NDP motion on mandatory fuel efficiency standards for cars, but tomorrow the Minister will join with the Conservatives and vote against mandatory fuel standards for cars, even though during the election the Prime Minister said that he was very favourable to NDP policies on the environment.
Our motion will make the air cleaner. Therefore why is he joining with the Conservatives to block this very good motion?

Hon. Stéphane Dion (Minister of the Environment, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, we share the same goals. The point is the means. The view of the Government of Canada is that a voluntary agreement, if it is well done, will give very good results. It is working in Europe, so why not in Canada? We will try to have a voluntary agreement with the auto industry and we will consider regulations only if this first step fails. However up until now there has been no reason to think that we will not have an agreement with the auto industry.

Ms. Libby Davies (Vancouver East, NDP): Mr. Speaker, voluntary measures have already been shown to fail. In fact the government has a real problem delivering on the principles it claims to stand on. It throws money at health care with no plan to stop privatization. It throws money at child care with no plan for not for profit delivery. Now it has no plan on Kyoto.

Why is the government prepared to send money to Russia to buy credits instead of working at home to make our air cleaner by delivering on mandatory standards for fuel emissions? Why will he not do that?

Hate Propaganda

Hate Propaganda

Ms. Libby Davies (Vancouver East, NDP): Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Senate passed by a vote of 59 to 11 Bill C-250, the Private Member’s Bill first introduced by the Member for Burnaby-Douglas almost 15 years ago to include sexual orientation in the Criminal Code hate propaganda section along with race, colour, religion and ethnic origin.

Too often gay and lesbian people are targeted for violence, hatred and even death as in the tragic case of Aaron Webster.

This Bill, supported by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and Attorneys General in Canada, is long overdue.

NDP leader Jack Layton and New Democrats join in paying tribute to those who made passage of the bill possible, including the Member for Burnaby-Douglas, staff Corie Langdon and Dan Frederick, Inspector Dave Jones, the Bill’s sponsor in the Senate, Senator Serge Joyal, and Members of the House and the Senate who voted for it.

Together we are sending a powerful message that there is no place in our Canada for hatred and violence targeting gay and lesbian people.

Top