Senator Yuen Pau Woo

Honourable senators, given Senator Boehm’s admonition, I’ve decided to speak now rather than next week. As a result, my comments may be less organized than I would like them to be. I have no disagreement with the chair’s summary and I want to thank him, Deputy Chair Senator Harder and all my colleagues for the excellent work that we did on this report. Colleagues, the report was very much about the machinery and mechanics of our sanctions regime and how we could m…

Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to Inquiry No. 11 on the one hundredth anniversary of the Chinese Exclusion Act. I would like to thank our colleague Senator Woo for introducing this inquiry and for encouraging us to speak about the experiences of the Chinese community. The Chinese community has been instrumental in the development and character of Canada. Shamefully, Chinese racism is on the rise in Canada. I hear so many upsetting stories from indi…

Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to Inquiry No. 11 concerning the historical treatment of our Chinese brothers and sisters. It is critical that we, as senators and citizens of Canada, understand how immigration policies have continued to shape racism within our country. I want to thank Senator Woo for bringing forward this inquiry, and for highlighting the need to combat contemporary forms of exclusion and discrimination still faced by Canadians of A…

I’m honoured to rise today to speak to Senator Woo’s inquiry which calls our attention to the enduring legacy of the Chinese Exclusion Act, which passed into law on July 1, 1923, one hundred years ago. The act was designed by the government of William Lyon Mackenzie King. It put an end to the old head tax system, and instead, slammed the door on Chinese immigration entirely. The rules were strict. Only four classes of Chinese people were allowed entry: diplomats…

Honourable senators, in the spirit of speakers who have come before me who are not experts in MAID but who feel passionate about this issue, let me also offer some reflections on the bill before us. Senator Plett has given us a good summary of how we got here in his account of Bill C-7 two years ago, underscoring the fact that the government itself did not want medical assistance in dying when mental illness is the sole underlying medical condition to be part of o…

Honourable colleagues, 100 years ago in this chamber, senators voted to adopt the Chinese Immigration Act, 1923. This piece of legislation is better known as the “Chinese Exclusion Act” because it effectively prohibited the entry of ethnic Chinese to Canada for 24 years. I am launching an inquiry to call attention to this stain on our institution, and to the profound hurt that it caused the Chinese Canadian community.  I invite all senators to contribute to the in…

[Translation - Chinese (simplified) 中文简体字翻译] 胡元豹参议员主旨演讲：呼吁参议院关注《排华法案》百年纪念 2023年2月14日 于加拿大联邦参议院 尊敬的同事们，100年前，在这个议会，参议员们投票通过了《1923年华人移民法案》。这项法律更为人 所知的名称是“排华法案”，因为它有效地禁止了华裔移民进入加拿大长达24年。 我发起了一项调查，旨在引起对我们议会这一污点的关注，以及它给加拿大华裔社区带来的深远伤痛。我邀请所有参议员为这项调查做出贡献，它包含另外两个部分：庆祝华裔加拿大人对我们国家的贡献，以及反思加拿大亚裔族群所面临的现代形式的偏见和排斥。 2023年6月23日，我和胡子修参议员将与加拿大人华人联合行动基金会（ACCT）一起，在加拿大联邦参 议院举办活动，纪念“排华法案”，并承诺终结对华裔和其他亚裔加拿大人的任何形式的排斥。我们已邀 请加拿大政府在那一天宣布委托制作一块百年纪念牌匾，我们希望它能在加拿大国会找到一个永久的家。排华的耻辱始于议会，它应该在议会里被纠正。 我感到特别的责任去纪念排华法案百…