On Saturday, tens of thousands of Chinese Canadians gathered on Parliament Hill to protest racism and consider Canada’s 1923 Chinese Immigration Act, often known as the Chinese Exclusion Act.
Before remarks were given, attendees enjoyed a variety of Chinese traditional activities, such as dancing, music, and lion dance.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a letter read at the ceremony that “Chinese communities in Canada deserved better, and still do, which is why we must continue to fight anti-Asian racism, violence, and hate.”
He said, “Today’s occasion offers a chance to consider the significant contributions that Canadians of Chinese heritage have made and are now making to the history, identity, and prosperity of our nation.
We will speak up to ensure that exclusion never occurs again on this “day of voice” Yuen Pau Woo, a senator from British Columbia, stated, “We must act to ensure that Chinese Canadians, Asian Canadians, and other minorities in Canada are not subject to any contemporary kind of discrimination.
In 1947, the Chinese Exclusion Act was abolished, which forbade the majority of Chinese immigration to Canada.