in Canadian Policy Part One: The History

Up to April 10,1978, to talk of racism in positive prohibiton in order to prevent China and Japan. The recital to the Canadian immigration policy is over citizens of particular from regulations said the language and generous to the Government of Can- entering. It could and it did restrain ad- mode of life of immigrants from Asia ada. Rather we should talk of racism as mission to nationals of certain listed render them unsuited for settlement Canadian immigration policy. countries. Nationals of all other coun- in when there are no colonies The Canadian Immigration Act of 1910 tries were, by implication, prohibited. of their own people to ensure their quite boldly gave Cabinet power to pro- The 1954 immigration regulations maintenance in case of their inability hibit immigrants belonging to any race. limited admissions to citizens of the to secure . The wording changed from time to U.K., , New Zealand, South time but the power remained intact Africa, , the U.S. and . The 1910 Act gave Cabinet powers to from 1910 to 1978. In 1919 the law stated Citizens of these countries had to have provide as a condition of admission to Cabinet could bar immigrants of any sufficient means to maintain them- land in Canada that the immigrants shall possess in their own right money race because the immigrants were selves until they secured employment. to a prescribed minimum, and the deemed undesirable "owing to their In 1956, citizens of the other countries peculiar customs, habits, modes of life amount could vary according to race. of Western were added to the That power lasted till 1956. and methods of holding property and list, provided the person came to Can- because of their probable inability to ada for governmental placement or the In 1914, under the 1910 Act, Cabinet become readily assimilated': government had given approval of his again passed an Order in Council that One example of the use of this power employment. People from Europe, the no immigrant of any Asiatic race would was a March 14,1919 Order in Council Middle East, or the , could be permitted to land in Canada unless to prohibit immigrants of the German, come if they had extended family here. the immigrant possessed in his own Austrian, Hungarian, Bulgarian or Others could come, notably those from right money to the amount of $200. Turkish races, except with the permis- Africa and Asia, only if they had im- This regulation became the subject of sion of the Minister of Immigration. mediate family here. some bizarre litigation that went all the That prohibition was different from the The prohibition by implication lasted way to the British Columbia Court of enemy prohibition. There was a Appeal. Munshi Singh appeared at the separate prohibition on entry for those until 1962. In that year a general entry requirement was applied to everyone. Canadian Port of Vancouver in May of who had been enemy aliens during the 1914 a few months after the Order in . The March 14 prohibition was Anyone could come if he could show he was able to successfully establish Council had been passed. He had only strictly racial. $20 with him. He was detained and Another example, again from 1919, was himself in Canada. Even with this change, preference was given to people ordered deported on the basis that he the power invoked to prohibit the land- was of an Asian race and had less than ing in Canada of Dukhobors, Hutter- from Europe, the Middle East or the Americas who had extended family $200 with him. Munshi Singh appealed ites, and Mennonites. this order to the Supreme Court and The Asian race was prohibited from here. Besides the power to prohibit explicitly to the Court of Appeal of B.C. He lost entry in 1923. Exceptions were made for at both courts. farm labourers and domestics. As well, and implicitly, the Immigration Act a Canadian male could sponsor an contained power to restrict according McPhillips, J.A., in a long judgement in Asian wife and their children under to race. the Court of Appeal, said, among other eighteen. In 1930 exceptions for The Immigration Act of 1906 stated that things, "the better classes of the Asiatic farmers, farm labourers and domestics Cabinet may provide as a condition to races are not given to leave their own were taken away. All that remained was permission to enter Canada that im- countries. . .and those who become im- the exception for immediate family. migrants shall possess money to a migrants are. . .undesirables in Can- This Asian prohibition lasted until prescribed minimum amount, which ada". "Their ways and ideas may well 1956. At that time it was replaced by amount may vary accoding to the class be a menace to the well being of the agreement with the Governments of of the immigrant. Canadian people". , Pakistan and Ceylon, limiting That power was first used in a racist "The Parliament of Canada. . .may well entry from each of these countries to way in 1908. A January 1908 Order in be said to be safeguarding the people of 150 from India, 100 from Pakistan and Council required $25 for everyone. A Canada from an influx which it is no 50 from Ceylon annually, in addition June 1908 Order in Council increased chimera to conjure up might annihilate to immediate relatives of Canadian citi- the minimum dollar requirement to the nation. . .introduce Oriental ways zens. In 1958 the figure was changed $200 in the case of all Asiatic immi- as against European ways. . .and all to 300 from India. The limitations grants, other than those for which the results that would naturally flow remained in effect till 1962. there were special regulations or ar- therefrom". The Government did not need the rangements. That exception covered "In their own interests their proper place of residence is within the con- tions were diplomats, Chinese born in entry. There was no financial require- fines of their respective countries in the Canada, merchants and students. That ment like that for Asians, requiring that continent of Asia, not in Canada, where statute remained on our books till 1947. Jews have so much in their pockets their customs are not in vogue and At least in form, if not in effect, the before they were allowed entry. There their adherence to them here only gives most extreme form of racism in immi- was no reauirement neutral on its face. rise to disturbances destructive to the gration was directed against the Japa- but dis~rikinatin~in effect, directed well being of society. . I' nese, during and after World War 11. against Jews, like the continuous "Better that people of non-assimilative Regulations passed under the authority voyage requirement directed against . . .race should not come to Canada, of the War Measures Act did not merely Indians. but rather that they shall remain of restrict entry of Japanese from abroad. One could search the laws in vain for residence in their of origin, They provided for the deportation of discrimination against Jews. Yet the and do their share, as they have in the Canadian citizens of Japanese descent discrimination was incontestable. It past, in the preservation and develop- who had been born in Canada. Every was done not through exercise of ex- ment of the empire". natural born British subject of the Japa- press powers, but &rough abuse of Besides the power to prohibit and the nese race 16 years of age or over resident powers. Whatever the immigration re- power to require financialrequirements in Canada who had made a request auirements were. Tews could not meet by race, there was a third power that for could be deported to them. The law ailowed for entry of was neutral on the face of it, but dis- Japan. The wife and children under 16 families with sufficient capital to criminatory in intent. The Immigration of any person for whom the Minister establish farms. But Tewish families Act from 1908, up till 1978, gave Cabi- made an order for deportation could be with capital were not allowed entry. net the power to impose a continuous included in the order. Any request for Immigration was headed by an avowed passage rule. repatriation would be deemed final antisemite, Fred Blair. He transferred The Governor in Council used this and irreversible after a fixed delay. the responsibility for processing Jew- power to pass an Order in Council, in In other words, a natural born Cana- ish applicants from other government 1914, prohibiting the landing of any im- dian could be ordered deported if he offices to his own where he personally migrant who came to Canada other- had requested to be sent to Japan, and if scrutinized each application, deciding wise than by continuous journey from he subsequently changed his mind. His its eligibility. But in virtually every the country of which he was a native family could be sent to Japan, whether case the answer was "no". or naturalized citizen with a through they had made a request or not. The Jewish experience, from the per- ticket purchased in that country or pre- This regulation was challenged before spective of racism in , paid. At that time, it was impossible to the Supreme Court of Canada and the is illuminating. The Jewish experience purchase in India or prepay in Canada Privy Council in England on appeal, tells us that you do not need laws to for a continuous journey from India on the ground that Canada could not have racial discrimination in immigra- to Canada. deport citizens born in Canada. It tion. All you need is unlimited discre- tion. An unsympathetic public, or un- Munshi Singh, who was ordered de- could only deport aliens. Both courts ruled that Canada had the power to motivated public leadership or racists ported because he had only $20 rather in officeare enough to lead to racism in that $200, was also ordered deported deport its own citizens. The final historical instance of racial immigration even with laws neutral on because he had not made a continuous their face. discrimination in immigration I will journey from India. He stopped at This lesson is particularly relevant now, Hong Kong first. The Court of Appeal mention is the discrimination against the Jews. Harold Troper and Irving because all racist appearances in our ruled that Mr. Singh was validly immigration laws have disappeared. Abella recount in chilling detail the ordered deported under that provi- The present Immigration Act has as determination of the immigration sion too. one of its obligations "to ensure that Aside from the general immigration authorities to keep out every single Jew, fleeing first Nazi , then the any person who seeks admission to acts, with their racial provisions, there land is subject to standards of admis- were a whole series of Chinese immi- Holocaust, and finally the aftermath of the Holocaust. sion that do not discriminate on the gration acts that were directed par- grounds of race, national or ethnic ticularly against persons of Chinese Let me just point out to you the distinc- origin, colour, religion or sex''. origin. Chinese immigrants did not just tive legal feature of this prohibited im- The power to prohibit entry by race is have to have money in their pocket. migration. What was different about it gone. The power to impose a financial They had to pay it over. The Chinese was that there was no law. There was requirement by race is gone. The con- Immigration Act of 1885 required each no Jewish Immigration Act like the tinuous passage rule is gone. Yet the Chinese immigrant to pay $50. That Chinese Immigration Act, prohibiting danger of racism remains. figure was increased to $100 in 1900, immigration altogether. There was no and $500 in 1903. In 1923, Chinese im- regulation like the regulation about David Matas, a Winnipeg lawyer, is Legal migration was prohibited altogether. Mennonites, saying that Jews were not Counsel to the League for Human Rights of The entry to or landing in Canada of suitable for Canada. There was no B'nai Brith Canada. The second part of this persons of Chinese origin or descent head tax against Jews, like the earlier paper, which examines present Canadian was prohibited, irrespective of alle- Chinese immigration acts, requiring immigration policy, will appear in the next giance or . The only excep- Jews to pay so much per person for issue of Refuge.