Poster Brainstorming:
Inquiry Question: Why were the passengers on the Komagata Maru rejected to stay in Canada?
Answer: The one and only reason Canada reject the entrance of the Komagata Maru passengers was racism
Racism:
Why were Canadians racist?
Since the Indian immigrants were part of the British Empire they should have been able to enter Canada, just like they were able to enter Uganda and Malaya. In 1906, the prime minister of Canada Wilfrid Laurier had said “if an immigrant arrives in good faith and with every intention of becoming a Canadian, then he must be treated on equal grounds, as it would be outrageous to act with discrimination against such a person for reasons of faith, place of birth, or origins.” What Laurier said in
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his speech was all lies because that was the complete opposite of how they treated the non-white immigrants. Since most of the people living in Canada were European, they wanted a “White Country” How did the Canadian government try to keep out Indian immigrants? In 1908, there was an anti-Asian riot in Vancouver because Canadians wanted to restrict all Asian immigration. At that time, there were not many Indians in Canada, so the riot was mainly opposing Japanese and Chinese immigration. As a result of this riot, the Canadian government had tried to restrict all Asian immigration. Later, two new regulations were introduced under the Immigration Act to maintain a “White Country”. Regulations: -In 1908, the first regulation was approved. This regulation stated that all Asians had to travel a continuous journey from their home country to enter Canada. Since it was impossible for South Asians to come to Canada without changing ships in Hawaii or Japan, this regulation was the subtle way of excluding Indians from entering Canada. - In 1910, the order-in-council passed another regulation which stated that immigrants of Asian origin had to have 200 dollars in cash with them when they came to Canada. At that time Sikh immigrants only had $30 to $35 which was more than enough for the $25 minimum that applied to all the other immigrants, but only one in several hundred Indians might have as much as $200. Result of regulations: Both of these regulations were the main reasons as to why the Komagata Maru was deported back to India.
This shows that the Canadian government had made these regulations just because they wanted to maintain a “White Country” and they were just being racist towards most Asians. They did not even care about what would have happened to the passengers on the Komagata Maru when they were sent back because they were so focused on making Canada a “White Man’s Country”. If the Canadians had tried to look across the fact that the Indians were a darker skin colour than them, they would have seen that they were still in fact humans that were just trying to live a better …show more content…
life. What events displayed Canada’s racism?
Canada was a racist country is because most Canadians referred to the Indian immigrants as ‘Hindus’ even though most of them were from the Sikh religion. This shows that they were racist because they did not even care about the fact that most of the immigrants from India were Sikhs and they just assumed they were all Hindus. That is like saying that Christians and Roman Catholics are from the same religion, when they are not.
To get Canadians against the idea of Indian immigration the government had accused Indians of having ‘Hindu hookworms’ since they had “low living standards” because they usually went places barefoot and they did not maintain proper sanitization. Once the Indians in British Columbia were tested, the reports showed that they did not have hookworms, so instead they were accused of consuming thymol to disguise their condition. As you can see Canadians were very racist against non-whites. As long as your skin colour was white you were allowed and welcomed into
Canada. The few thousand Indians that had migrated to Canada before the two regulations were passed were treated poorly. They did not have the right to vote, despite being British subjects. Also, they were given many constrictions like they were told that you can only live here, you can only do these jobs, and you can only go to this school. Indian immigrants were not given the freedom that they expected to be given to them. This clearly shows that Canadians were very racist towards South Asian immigrants just because of their skin colour. Indian immigrants were accused of being a “constant anger” to public health because they had diseases like smallpox, Asiatic cholera, bubonic plague, etc. This is ironic because it was actually the Europeans that had brought many diseases like the smallpox into Canada killing off most of the First Nations population and now they are accusing Indians of bringing diseases like smallpox. Also, Canadians had accused the passengers on the Komagata Maru of having many eyes diseases like trachoma, but there are no medical records of the passengers test reports, so the Canadian government could have been finding non-existent disease in prospective passengers to make deportation certain. Improvement/ apologies: Canada is no longer a racist country and instead of a “White Country” it is a multicultural country. All races and religions are allowed in Canada and there is no longer discrimination to non-whites. Also, Stephen Harper the Former Prime Minister of Canada had apologized on Sunday, May 24, 2015 for the 1914 Komagata Maru incident in which hundreds of Indians seeking a better life in Canada were turned away. The Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau had also apologized in the House of Commons on May 18, 2016 for the 1914 for the government decision of rejecting most of the passengers of the Komagata Maru.
The Canadian Pacific Railway was the first transcontinental railway built to connect Canada from coast to coast. (Canadian Pacific Para. 9) The construction almost delayed completely because of John A. MacDonald losing power, but it was finally continued with the help of a syndicate. (Canadian Pacific Para. 4) Due to the insufficient amount of adequate workers in British Columbia, Chinese contract workers were imported to help construct the track with minimal pay and harsh conditions. (Canada Para. 1) Chinese-Canadians were discriminated by being given the most dangerous job, no food or shelter provided, and the least pay. Unfortunately, when the track was completed, the Exclusion Act for Chinese immigrants was established to stop immigration from China, (Calgary Chinese Cultural Centre Para. 5) while also making it impossible for family members from China to immigrate. (Calgary Chinese Cultural Centre Para. 11)
Canada is perceived by other nations as a peace-loving and good-natured nation that values the rights of the individual above all else. This commonly held belief is a perception that has only come around as of late, and upon digging through Canadian history it quickly becomes obvious that this is not the truth. Canadian history is polluted with numerous events upon which the idea that Canada is a role model for Human Rights shows to be false. An extreme example of this disregard for Human Rights takes place at the beginning of the twentieth-century, which is the excessive prejudice and preconceived notions that were held as truths against immigrants attempting to enter Canada. Another prime example of these prejudices and improper Human Rights is the Internment of those of Japanese descent or origin during the Second World War. Also the White Paper that was published by the government continues the theme of Human Rights being violated to the utmost extreme. All these events, as well as many others in history, give foundation to the idea that “Canada as a champion for Human Rights is a myth”.
Canada is internationally renowned for its commitment to multiculturalism. In fact, Canada was the first nation to officially adopt a multicultural policy. However, while the Canadian government has developed a broad-based multicultural mandate that includes a national human rights code and increased penalties for hate-motivated crimes, and most Canadians oppose overt forms of discrimination and hate, racism continues to exist in Canadian society, albeit in a subtle fashion.
Harold Cardinal made a bold statement in his book, The Unjust Society, in 1969 about the history of Canada’s relationship with Aboriginal peoples. His entire book is, in fact, a jab at Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s idea of ‘the just society’. Pierre Elliott Trudeau made great assumptions about First Nations people by declaring that Aboriginal people should be happy about no longer being described as Indian. His goal was to rid Canada of Indians by assimilating them into the Canadian framework. Considered by many as a progressive policy, Trudeau’s white paper demonstrates just how accurate the following statement made by Harold Cardinal at the beginning of his book is : “The history of Canada’s Indians is a shameful chronicle of the white man’s disinterest,
Labour leaders in Canada in the late 1800s and early 1900s were strongly opposed to the idea of Asians immigrating to Canada. In “Constructing the Great Menace” by David Goutor, it outlines the oppression of Asians by labour leaders which does not conclude that labour leaders hated all immigration and had a prejudice against all racialized groups. The unionists’ main argument for this opposition is based on the stereotype that Asians were claimed to have “accepted low wages and degraded working conditions” thus proving that they will diminish the standard of living for Canadian workers. These Labour Leaders were prejudice to Asians in an effort to supposedly protect Canadian workers and their jobs. However, it is not fair to say that labour
The Japanese were stunned as they heard the announcement that all Japanese Canadians were to be moved from the Pacific Coast into internment camps until the war ended. Five days after the announcement that all Japanese were to be interned, the cabinet passed an order-in-council which empowered the BCSC (British Columbia Security Commission) to remove and detain “any and all Japanese Canadians.
The tendency to racially discriminate and victimise against certain minorities or a specific nationality was a long-lasting sting of racism which was a part of Canadian history. The discrimination by Canadians directed towards Japanese-Canadians during WWII was a significant historical event that needs to be addressed. After the Pearl Harbour attacks in Hawaii by the Japanese navy, 24,000 Japanese-Canadians were placed in internment camps, where they were stripped of their identity and freedom of rights based upon their racial origin. In the aftermath of the internment, many Japanese-Canadian natives were left without life savings, as all of their belongings were confiscated and never given back. This internment of the Japanese-Canadians occurred
The Indian Act is made up from the Gradual Civilization Act of 1857 and the Gradual Enfranchisement Act of 1869. The Gradual Civilization Act encouraged the Indian people to give up their status and become a Canadian citizen. The Gradual Enfranchisement Act gave the government full control over the Indian people. They were able to decide everything from who kept their status, received benefits, and even who were able to keep their children. In 1876, these acts together alongside with other rules and regulations formed the Indian Act. The government thought it was best to be able to control every aspect of the First Nations people’s lives. It was stated in annual report of the Department of the Interior Indian Affairs in 1876:
...panese Canadian Interment and Racism During World War II." IMAGINATIONS. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Jan. 2014.
The Indian act, since being passed by Parliament in 1876, has been quite the validity test for Aboriginal affairs occurring in Canada. Only a minority of documents in Canadian history have bred as much dismay, anger and debate compared to the Indian Act—but the legislation continues as a central element in the management of Aboriginal affairs in Canada. Aboriginal hatred against current and historic terms of the Indian Act is powerful, but Indigenous governments and politicians stand on different sides of the fence pertaining to value and/or purpose of the legislation. This is not shocking, considering the political cultures and structures of Aboriginal communities have been distorted and created by the imposition of the Indian Act.
Do you think Canada is still racist country? In my opinion, I definitely support the fact that Canada is not a racist country anymore. It has changed significantly since its birth; it was once a child, however, it has now grown up and is a role model for other countries. Rewinding back to the early and mid 1900, Canada was known as a racist country; however after WWII, it started to reduce the racism, sexism, and hatred against non-white Races. Canada began to allow multi races such as Chinese, Japanese, and the Jewish to live in Canada, however, life was still difficult for the non- whites. The essay “Our Home and Racist Land” was written approximately 50 years ago and talks about facts that occurred 30 years before the essay was written. The narrator of this story talks about her father in the 1930s. She states “looking for a job in the thirties was a scare, especially for blacks”. Her father had a tough time finding a job, since the racism level in Canada was reaching the sky. At first her father was a cook at The Great Lakes, he worked for extended hours a day and was not paid a fair amount, her father usually returned home in a jaded condition. . Is it anything like that in Canada today? No, it is not, today in Canada all adult workers are paid nothing below the minimum wage, and bonus pay kicks in when a worker decides to work overtime. Differiencity is not the solution in Canada anymore; it usually is against the Canadian law. The narrator of the essay includes that her father finally found a job in 1942 at Ford Motor Company’s transportation centre in Windsor. Her father was hapless at the time, fortunately his life and luck made a U turn and this proofs that Canada began to take a step towards a multiculturalism nation. ...
was the driving factor that ultimately resulted in the internment of the Japanese Canadians. Racial prejudice against Orientals had been around in B.C. since the 1850s when Chinese immigrants came to Canada to help with the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway. A newspaper article described the Chinese as a “marvelous human machine, competent to perform the maximum of labour on the minimum of sustenance” (Adachi 42). While they were beneficial for contractors, they posed a threat to the white population (Figure 3). The cartoon suggests that the low living standards of the Chinese allowed them to endure the harshest conditions, while being satisfied with the lowest wages. In contrast, the typical European is portrayed as a civilized human being who cannot compete with the Chinese workers without sacrificing his dignity. As a result, when the Japanese started immigrating to Canada later on, the British Columbian population only saw them as another threat to their culture due to the similarities they shared with the Chinese. However, the Japanese proved to be a greater problem since they were not affected by the Head Tax imposed on the Chinese (Hickman, 33; Morton). The attack on Pearl Harbour was an excuse that finally allowed British Columbians to release the anti-Japanese sentiment that they had been suppressing for years. In addition, when the final decision to intern the Japanese Canadians was passed, the government considered them all as potential threats (Figure 4). There was no effort made to distinguish those who posed potential threats and those who did not; most of them had no connection with Japan besides for their ancestry. This can only be attributed to racism, as there are only 38 suspects out of the 22,000 internees. Similarly, selling of Japanese property was another racist act that the government claimed to be necessary for the war effort and to increase national security (Sunahara 90; “The War Years”).
Systemic discrimination has been a part of Canada’s past. Women, racial and ethnic minorities as well as First Nations people have all faced discrimination in Canada. Policies such as, Charter of Rights and Freedoms, provincial and federal Human Rights Codes, as well has various employment equity programs have been placed in Canada’s constitution to fight and address discrimination issues. Despite these key documents placed for universal rights and freedoms Aboriginal and other minority populations in Canada continue to be discriminated against. Many believe there is no discrimination in Canada, and suggest any lack of success of these groups is a result of personal decisions and not systemic discrimination. While others feel that the legislation and equality policies have yet resulted in an equal society for all minorities. Racism is immersed in Canadian society; this is clearly shown by stories of racial profiling in law enforcement.
The Indian Act was an attempt by the Canadian government to assimilate the aboriginals into the Canadian society through means such as Enfranchisement, the creation of elective band councils, the banning of aboriginals seeking legal help, and through the process of providing the Superintendent General of the Indian Affairs extreme control over the aboriginals, such as allowing the Superintendent to decide who receives certain benefits, during the earlier stages of the Canadian-Indigenous' political interaction. The failure of the Indian Act though only led to more confusion regarding the interaction of Canada and the aboriginals, giving birth to the failed White Paper and the unconstitutional Bill C-31, and the conflict still is left unresolved until this day.
Canada's immigration policies changed many times after the end of WWII. Before WWII the immigration policies were "picky" on the people who wanted to come to Canada, but after, it was fair and equal to everyone. Canada's immigration policies changed drastically from being discriminative to being fair and equal to everyone, every country and race after WWII. This act to eliminating discrimination was successful because of; the introduction of the Point System, the introduction of New Immigration acts/policies, and finally the changes made in accepting Refugees. These action completely changed the immigration policies.