City of Vancouver to apologize for its racist past

CITY OF VANCOUVER ARCHIVES

Elderly Chinese men in Vancouver's Chinatown in 1936.

ASAM NEWS

THE VANCOUVER City Council voted unanimously Wednesday, (Nov. 1) to apologize for the discrimination faced by Chinese in the Canadian city.

The Vancouver Courier reports the city will host a major event in April to acknowledge the city-sponsored racist policies instituted between 1886 and 1947.

“My mother, Vivian Jung, who was born in Merritt, B.C., was first full-time teacher of Chinese descent hired by VSB (Vancouver School Board), despite being, as a student teacher, told she was not allowed to swim in Crystal Pool because she was of Chinese descent, when she was taking lifesaving qualifications with the other student teachers,” Cynthia Kent said to the council before the vote, according to Metro News.

A council staff report outlines some of the institutionalized oppression faced by the Chinese.

In 1886, the city banned Chinese from voting nor could they run for public office or become a lawyer, doctor, nurse or banker.

The city also backed federal policies that banned Chinese from immigrating to Canada. A head tax passed against the Chinese went from $50 in 1885 to $100 in 1900 and $500 in 1903.

“You can never become a better society — a better place, a better city — unless you acknowledge what have been your errors, and what have been the wrongs,” said Green Party Coun. Adriane Carr.

Today, people of Chinese descent make up about 30 percent of Vancouver's population. Other Asians add another 12 percent, making the city the most Asian city outside of Asia.

(Views from the Edge contributed to this report._
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