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Chinese Head Tax
The Chinese head tax was imposed on Chinese immigrant to Canada between 1885-1923, under the Chinese Immigration Act. This head tax was created to discourage people of Asian descent from immigrating to Canada. It started out with charging the Chinese $50 to come to Canada, then was raised to $100, and then $500. In 1923 the head tax was removed and the immigration of Chinese people was banned until 1947. -
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Internment of Ukrainian Canadians
At beginning of WWI in 1914, more than 8000 people of Ukrainian and German descent were arrested and sent to camps because of their identity. Canada made the arrests under the War Measures Act, which was passed at the outbreak of the war in 1914. In many cases the government seized the homes and possessions of those who were arrested. -
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Internment of Italian Canadians
During WWII, Canada used the War Measures Act to arrest people of Italian descent and send them to camps. The arrests began on June 10, 1940. This was when Italy declared war on Canada. The arrests mainly focused on men, but some families had to follow the men to the camps. The government seized properties of some people who got arrested. The arrested affected about 700 people. -
Komgata Maru Incident
In 1914, a Japanese steam ship holding passengers from Punjab, British India was denied entry into Canada. The passenger didn't want to go back because of poor living conditions. So they stayed in the harbor for two more months but, the ship was later forced to go back to India. Only a few of the 376 passengers were admitted to Canada. -
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Internment of Japanese Canadians
On December 7, 1941, during WWII, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Canadians with Japanese ancestry suddenly found themselves being treated with suspicion or even hatred. In February 1942, Canada's government decided to move all people of Japanese origin away from the west coast. Under the War Measures Act, more than 20,000 men, women and children were forced to leave their communities. They could only bring what the could cary. This internment lasted until 1949, four years after WWII. -
Immigration Act
The Immigration Act was created in 1976 and was put into force in 1978. It focused on people who should and shouldn't be allowed into Canada. The act gave more power to provinces to set their own immigration laws. It also created four new classes of immigrants who could come to Canada. These classes were: refugees, families, assisted relatives and independent immigrants This act would later be replaced. -
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Creation of Immigration Categories
In Canada, there are four categories of immigrants. The four categories are: family class, economic immigrants, other and refugees. There have been numerous acts to put these categories in place. The Immigration Act had helped establish some of those categories and it's replacement, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, had helped develope the categories. -
Singh Decision
In 1985, the Singh decision was ruled. A man named Satnam Singh came to Canada from India seeking refugee status. Canada rejected his case under the immigration act of 1976. The Supreme Court disagreed and said that this violated section 7 of the Charter. This resulted in people who claiming refugee status in Canada have a right to a hearing, Canada then established the Immigration and Refugee Board and Canada's government provides people seeking refugee status with the necessities of life. -
Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act dates from 2002. It is once of the most recent laws Canada has had about immigration. It established categories of who can immigrate to Canada to create permanent homes. Some of its objectives were: pursue social, cultural and economic benefits for all Canadians, promote successful integration of immigrants into Canadian society, and much more. -
Refugees being added as an immigration category
Refugee is one of the four immigration categories (Economic Immigrants, Families, Refugee and Other). This is established under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. In 1951, Canada signed the U.N Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. During the 1950s and 1960s, Canada offered to shelter refugees in response to the specific world crisis. In 1976, it made refugees as one the four categories. This also made it so refugees were accepted whenever. Instead of crisis by crisis.
