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Chinese Head Tax
The Chinese head tax was a fixed fee charged to each Chinese person entering Canada. The head tax was first levied after the Canadian Parliament passed the Chinese Immigration Act of 1885 and was meant to discourage Chinese people from entering Canada after the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The tax was abolished by the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923, which stopped all Chinese immigration except for business people, clergy, educators, students, and other categories. -
Komagata Maru Incident
The Komagata Maru incident involved the Japanese steamship KM on which a group of citizens of the British Raj attempted to immigrate to Canada in 1914, but were denied. KM sailed from Hong Kong, then the British Empire, via Shangai, China, and Yokohama, Japan to Vancouver, British Columbia, carrying 376 passengers from Punjab, British India. 24 of them were admitted to Canada but the other 352 passengers were not allowed to disembark in Canada, and the ship was forced to return to India. -
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Internment of Ukrainian Canadians
The UCI was a part of the confinement of "enemy aliens" in Canada during & for 2 years after the first World War, lasting from 1914 to 1920, under the terms of the War Measures Act. Canada was at a war with Austria-Hungary & about 4K Ukrainian men, women & children of Austria-Hungarian citizenship were kept in 24 internment camps & related to work sites also known, as concentration camps. Another 80K were left at large but were registered as "enemy aliens" & were obliged to report to the police. -
Internment of Italian Canadians
Italian Canadian internment began when Italy declared war on Canada on June 10, 1940. Days later, Minister of Justice Ernest Lapointe, signed the order that resulted in labeling thousands of Italian Canadians as "enemy aliens". Habeas Corpus was suspended, and about 500 men (198 of them from Montreal) and four women were eventually interned as enemy aliens. In addition 100 Italian seamen, who were in Canadian waters on June 10, 1940, were also subject to internment. -
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Internment of Japanese Canadians
Japanese Canadian internment was the detainment of Japanese Canadians following the invasion of Hong Kong, Malaya and the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the subsequent Canadian declaration of war on Japan during World War 2. In August 1944, Prime Minister Mackenzie King announced that Japanese Canadians were to move east into prisoner of war camps. By 1949 legislation was enacted that allowed Japanese Canadians the right to vote provincially as well as federally, marking the end of internment. -
Refugees being added as an immigration category
The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, is an Act of the Parliament of Canada, passed in 2001, which replaced the "Immigration Act, 1976" as the primary federal legislation regulating immigration to Canada. The IRPA came into force on June 28, 2002. Even with the refugee category created in the IA 1976, controversially the government failed to implement a component of the legislation that would have implemented a Refugee Appeal Division as a part of Canada's immigration system. -
Immigration Act, 1976
The IA 1976, in Canada was insured in 1978 by the Parliament of Canada. Individuals who could become a burden on social welfare or health services would now be refused entry. This created 4 new classes of immigrants who could come to Canada: refugees, families, assisted relatives, and independent immigrants. While independent immigrants had to take part in the points system, other classes did not have to take part in this test so long as they passed basic criminal, security, and health checks. -
Singh Decision
In Canada, April 4 is Refugee Day, following a 1985 Supreme Court decision (Singh decision). Satnam Singh came to Canada from India seeking refugee status. Canada's government rejected his case under the IA, 1976. The supreme Court said this violated section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which says, "Everyone has the right to life, liberty, & security of except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice." The Supreme Court said everyone means everyone inside of Canada. -
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Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
The "Immigration and Refugee Protection Act" is an Act of Parliament of Canada, passed in 2001, which replaced the "Immigration Act, 1976" as the primary federal legislation regulating immigration to Canada. The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act came into force on June 28, 2002. The Canadian government failed to put a component of the legislation that would have a Refugee Appeal Division as a part of Canada's immigration system into effect. -
Creation of Immigration Categories
The "Immigration and Refugee Protection Act", is an Act of the Parliament of Canada, passed in 2001, which replaced the "Immigration Act, 1976." The Immigration Refugee Protection Act creates a high level framework detailing the goals and guidelines the Canadian government has set with regards to immigration into Canada by foreign residents. The Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations contain the laws created to fit within the IRPA in order to specify how the IRPA is to be applied.
