Canadian Identity Research Essay
Treatment to Immigrants
Large amounts of people have been immigrating into Canada ever since the 1600s. Of course it wasn’t until the 1960s that people of all backgrounds, religion, and ethnics were allowed to make a home and co-exist in Canada. Originally, many people weren’t accepted because of their race. Even if some where accepted, they ended up being treated unfairly with rules such as head tax and bans specifically for them. Overtime, things got better for immigrants and they started to become accepted, first through the work they did to support the country as well as resources and the determination they gave. Now, immigrants can easily come into Canada and become Canadian citizens giving them rights and freedoms equal to everyone around them. With immigrants comes a change in society and culture. Many trends we have now originated from another country and were introduced into Canada only through immigration. Canada wasn’t always as accepting to immigrants as it is now. Many newcomers weren’t given the respect they deserved just because of where they came from and their backgrounds. An example of this disrespect is when the Chinese came from China to Canada to help build the railway across the country. “The labor contracts typically were for five years, and the Chinese who signed them intended to return to Chine after their sojourn” (Holland). This shows that the Chinese immigrants were only allowed to stay because they are signed and have to work but once their contract is over, they have to go back to China and it’s unfair that they cannot choose to stay. Another example of unjust treatment to immigrants is the wage at which immigrants worked at. “The railways paid Chinese laborers only one-fifth of what they paid white workers for the same work” (Holland). This tells us that Chinese people got paid less than white people for the same job just because they were Chinese. Back then, racism was overlooked and the Chinese just had to
Large amounts of people have been immigrating into Canada ever since the 1600s. Of course it wasn’t until the 1960s that people of all backgrounds, religion, and ethnics were allowed to make a home and co-exist in Canada. Originally, many people weren’t accepted because of their race. Even if some where accepted, they ended up being treated unfairly with rules such as head tax and bans specifically for them. Overtime, things got better for immigrants and they started to become accepted, first through the work they did to support the country as well as resources and the determination they gave. Now, immigrants can easily come into Canada and become Canadian citizens giving them rights and freedoms equal to everyone around them. With immigrants comes a change in society and culture. Many trends we have now originated from another country and were introduced into Canada only through immigration. Canada wasn’t always as accepting to immigrants as it is now. Many newcomers weren’t given the respect they deserved just because of where they came from and their backgrounds. An example of this disrespect is when the Chinese came from China to Canada to help build the railway across the country. “The labor contracts typically were for five years, and the Chinese who signed them intended to return to Chine after their sojourn” (Holland). This shows that the Chinese immigrants were only allowed to stay because they are signed and have to work but once their contract is over, they have to go back to China and it’s unfair that they cannot choose to stay. Another example of unjust treatment to immigrants is the wage at which immigrants worked at. “The railways paid Chinese laborers only one-fifth of what they paid white workers for the same work” (Holland). This tells us that Chinese people got paid less than white people for the same job just because they were Chinese. Back then, racism was overlooked and the Chinese just had to