The day the Prime Minister wrote to me

June 1, 2007 - Well, technically, the PM didn't write directly to me, but the envelope had my name on it, so I'm going to say that he did =)

So why did I get a letter from the PM? well apparently, Prime Minister Harper is sending letters to Chinese families across the country to officially and "personally apologize for the Head Tax" - something that happened almost 100 years ago. The Head Tax, as we all know, was a fixed fee charged for each Chinese person entering Canada back in the late 19th - early 20th century. The tax took effect beginning in 1885 and lasted until 1923, when the Chinese Immigration Act banned Chinese immigrants altogether. The tax was $500 Cdn per head, which at the time was enough to buy two houses. It should also be noted that the Chinese was the only ethnic group required to pay such a tax.

Anyway, when the Harper government took power, one of the things that they did was to formally apologize for the Head Tax. Last year, the Harper government also announced that all Chinese immigrants who once paid the Head Tax will be compensated (there were only 20 survivors).

Back to the letter - it was great that the PM apologized - and I think sending letters (in both English and Chinese) to the Chinese community is great PR. Of course, I also know that this just is a way to buy votes - and I have to say, despite this nice gesture, he's still not getting my vote.

Why was the letter addressed to me though? I have no idea. I was actually excited when I saw the envelope (I thought maybe he was going to offer me a job or something!). Oh well - at least I can still say I got a letter from the PM!