Council backs bid to make head tax monument a national historic site

Brandon City Council is backing efforts to have Parks Canada designate a monument in the city as a national historic site.

The Chinese Head Tax Monument in the Brandon Municipal Cemetery was sculpted in 2011 to serve as a remembrance of the damages done by the federal government to the Chinese-Canadian community.

Council unanimously voted to write a letter of recommendation to Parks Canada at its Monday evening council meeting.

“I think it really deserves a lot of recognition,” said Sue-On Hillman, who was one of the organizers when the monument was built, and is herself a Chinese immigrant.

“The Chinese immigrants have put in so much here, and they have given a lot to the city.”

The application for the designation was started by Dennis Hurley, who originally did it because of a university project.

The 66-year-old Brandon University student is taking history classes after he retired, and one of his assignments was to find something here that is worthy of national recognition.

“We had to prepare a paper, and then we had to submit the nomination to Parks Canada,” he told the Sun after his presentation to council on Monday.

Parks Canada replied saying they needed community and landowner approval, which is why he went to the municipal heritage advisory committee and then directly to city council.

“This was a really regrettable part of Canadian history that I think many people are completely unaware of,” Hurley said. “It’s hard to fathom here a century later, how biased Canadians were. We’ve done some pretty shady things.”

Starting in 1885 after Chinese workers helped complete the Canadian Pacific Railway, the federal government started charging new Chinese immigrants $50 per person (about $1,749 in 2023 dollars). That slowly ballooned up to $500 by 1903 (equal to $18,000 in 2023), according to a committee report by the city.

In 1923, the federal government effectively banned Chinese immigration, up until 1947.

The monument in the cemetery allows the Chinese population to honour the dead immigrants who no longer have relatives here.

“This way we have a big monument where we can all gather as a community,” Hillman said.

The monument was built after former prime minister Stephen Harper apologized for the government’s actions and offered victims and their spouses financial compensation.

Hillman said her mother received around $20,000 after the apology.

The monument, which was sculpted by Glenboro artist Peter Sawatzky, stands tall with carvings of people working on the railway, and parents with their kids in front of a restaurant. The circular-shaped coin features a giant square hole in the middle and sits on the east side of the cemetery.

The names of donors and history of what the government did are attached to the bottom of the tall structure.

Hillman said the sculpture represents the acts of the government well.

“I mean, it really traces the history of it. Initially when they came over to work on the railroads, there was hardship,” she said. “But you can see where they sort of progress and try different things. They didn’t just work as railroad coolies.”

If Parks Canada were to deem it a national historic site, a plaque with an explanation of its significance would be set next to it.

More importantly, Hurley said, it will go on Parks Canada’s website, which will lead tourists and history buffs to visit the site.

There are currently 1,004 national historic sites across the country, according to Parks Canada’s website.

Parks Canada itself bills the sites as a way to learn about the country’s history.

“These sites allow us to learn more about Canadian history, including the diverse cultural communities who make up Canada,” reads a section of the website.

Ward 4 Coun. Shaun Cameron, who co-chairs the city’s heritage advisory committee, said after the meeting that a letter of support from council is a good thing, because what Hurley is trying to do is in line with the city’s values.

“Community inclusion and recognition of overlooked voices in our shared past” reflect Brandon’s values, he said in a phone interview. “The Chinese Head Tax Monument being situated outside of a major metropolis broadens the sort of Canadian historic lens of how important Chinese Canadians are to the history of our country.”

Ward 2 Coun. Kris Desjarlais said at the meeting that Brandon is a rail town unlike the major cities where other monuments are located, so it makes even more sense to have the designation here.

“I think Brandon’s probably a better suited city to have this national monument,” he said. “We’re here, we exist because of that.

“I think it’s a good idea and something we should be supporting.”

Parks Canada didn’t respond to a request for comment.

» alambert@brandonsun.com