July 1: Day of Humiliation

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The result of a Canadian Press/Harris Decima survey suggests: the country knows little about its own history. Apparently, while Canadians profess pride in their country - that pride doesn't necessarily translate into knowing much about it. Findings are lengthy and spiked with astounding samples of the public's percecption of what, who, when and how.

Thus the question whether many really care abot the current 1812-exhibit in Ottawa - other than that it's held at our very own - corporate - national museum glorifying war and costs over 1 million bucks - may generally generate lukewarm interest in the rest of the country.
Somewhat more interesting the rest may find that - according to the Ottawa Business Journal, June 18, 2012 - Part of the money for the exhibit will come from the federal government, which has budgeted $28 million across the country for war commemorations and related advertising.
Our very own war! How cute is that! To the tune of!

In connection with all that blood-letting, I found out that there actually was a Laura Secord and involved too - while I had hitherto known her only as the name of a really good chocolate shop at Yonge/College in Toronto - years ago. No - not as far back as 1812!
Whatever - all this 1812ing raises the point that Canada still hasn't got its identity straight: relationship-issues! On one hand: not ready to let go of mum's ever so long apron-strings - although she is far too busy for us elsewhere with hats and horses. And on the other: turned-on by Uncle Sam's sexy uniform and a pistol in his pocket - just over the backyard-fence.
Decisions! Or not!

So here comes Canada Day - a day of abundant consumption, what with tons of unhealthy food and floods of cold brewskie in the great outdoors. Good for business! But personal reflection? Not so much!

Did you know - for instance - that on Canada Day, July 1, 1923 - or Dominion Day, as it was called then - the Exclusion Act came into effect: putting a legal stop to Chinese immigration or even just entering the country - with the odd exception. This generally connected with money, no matter what the rules said. The ban even applied to Chinese with British citizenship, and technically all those from Hongkong - a British protectorate/colony - fit that category.
The date of this was cruelly telling: Chinese did not qualify for being Canadian - although there was no immigration/citizenship law in place at the time, and their head-tax certificate made those here already just as Canadian as everybody else.
This day of British-colonial preening and prancing became known to Chinese anywhere as Day of Humiliation, and for the next 24 years - until 1947 - they were reminded every July 1 that they were not worthy of being Canadian.

This Day of Humiliation presented the most devastating loss of face yet - on top of the many restrictions heaped upon Chinese in BC - including Nelson - and the rest of the country already. They could not vote in local and provincial elections, and because they were not on voters' lists there again until 1949, they could not vote nationally. This also meant: they could not become attorneys, pharmacists, accountants; they could not be jurors. They were excluded from crown-land leases until 1951; they could not be hired for government work of any kind nor receive government contracts.
All this after those who entered Canada after 1903 had to pay a head-tax of $500 - an extraordinary amount at the time. But that could have been worse, if those in charge had listened to Nelson's former mayor John "Truth" Houston - racist extraordinaire - who had been loudly pushing for raising the tax to $1000!

The Act had far-reaching ramifications fo those Chinese in Canada already. With family being of utmost importance to them, even their immediate families in China could not join them here, and those not married were looking at possibly never being able to marry, because intermarrying with whites simply wasn't acceptable to most of them - as it wasn't to white women.
By law - for a time - white women were not allowed to work in restaurants run by Chinese. Inscrutable sex in the kitchen and all that!

Those men here then had a choice of either returning to China for good - the preferred official scenario - or they could go back home for a time, get married, wait for the wife to become pregnant and then return to Canada alone to prepare a home for wife and child - for when (if!) the Exclusion Act was lifted.
They were allowed to leave Canada and reenter with their head-tax certificate as a kind of passport.
So many went home to make their families there comfortable for the stretch and get married. These men ended-up having to support 2 households - one here/one there - without any guarantee!
But this lay-away-plan family was still better than no family at all, as many worried about possibly being too old to start a family after the law - they could only hope! - was dropped eventually.

When this happened after 24 years - wives with unmarried children were allowed to join husbands/fathers, and many men met their offspring for the first time as young adults. Many wives did not want to come at all, feeling too old or too set in their ways in China to start a new life in a country where - they knew - they really were not welcome. Or the husband here or wife/child there had died in the meantime. Shattered dreams, futures.
An open immigration law for Chinese specifically did not come into effect until 1967.

A small, bitter-sweet consolation for those whose lives have been directly/indirectly shaped by the Exclusion Act: Canadian flags waved on Canada Day now were probably made in China. And the day's highlight all are oohing and aahing over - fireworks - are a Chinese invention!

Canada Day



Uh-oh, Canada!






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