Those Who Demand Apologies From Canada Often Owe Apologies To Canada

Justice Dennis Murphy's discovery in 1910-11 of numerous Chinese immigration frauds raises the question: Who should be apologizing to whom today?

It should be clear to all but the naive that the unspoken purpose of Chinese and East Indian demands for apologies today is that these groups be allowed virtually unlimited entry into Canada---without regard for the consequences on Canada.

By Citizen Correspondent Dan Murray , Canada

Date Posted: 04/09/07

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A Conservative MP, who has been researching the Komagata Maru incident, has recently stated that Canada's federal government will commemorate the Komagata Maru incident, but probably not issue a formal apology. Time will tell what actually gets done, but this news indicates a bit of progress in thinking about "apologies."

An earlier decision to apologize to the Chinese for the Head Tax on Chinese labourers was an obvious misinterpretation of the events of that time. An examination clearly demonstrates that the Head Tax was aimed at low-wage Chinese labourers, not all Chinese. It not only tried to discourage Chinese labourers from coming but, in the case of those who did come, attempted to be an economic equalizer. Like a tariff applied to remove the price advantage of cheap foreign products, the Head Tax tried to neutralize the economic advantage that Chinese labourers had over host population labourers. The Chinese Head Tax issue was as basic and clear as that.

A Royal Commission investigation, done by Justice Dennis Murphy in 1910-1911 of "Alleged Chinese Frauds and Opium Smuggling On The Pacific Coast", looks at Chinese efforts to evade the Head Tax and to exploit immigration law from 1904 to 1910. These schemes and the undetermined number of Chinese who entered Canada illegally through these schemes raise the question: Who should be apologizing to whom?

The findings of Justice Dennis Murphy are not some obscure chapter in Canadian history. They are particularly relevant today because they contradict the claims by some Chinese that they were innocent victims.

In fact,the numerous examples of fraud committed by the Chinese show that if anyone should be demanding contrition for past wrongs, it should be Canada, not the Chinese. The same thing can be said of East Indian demands for a Komagata Maru apology.