The Chinese workers represented a threat to unskilled white employees in the province of British Columbia. The more the Chinese were hired, the angrier the population from B.C. got. This resulted in several attempts of prohibiting them from immigrating to Canada. Also, the international community of the time had a lot of prejudice towards the Chinese, as well. Countries such as Australia and the USA had created ways of reducing the immigration of this group of Asians (Lee 51). However, nothing could stop the immigration until the construction of the CPR was completed. Due to this fact, there was a lot of prejudice in the Chinese life in Canada. Furthermore, it is essential to highlight the terrible conditions of living the Chinese workers had.
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For instance, the Chinese were known for having to do the most dangerous jobs, which included working with explosives (The Chinese experience in Canada 6). Thus, a lot of death unfortunately occurred. The casualties also increased due to the poor conditions, that generated illness. One common disease was called Scurvy, which is caused by a diet that lacks vitamin C (The Chinese Experience in Canada 12-14). The problem was that their families in China did not receive any compensation for their deaths, nor they received a notification. The parents did not even know whether or not their relative was alive (The Chinese experience in Canada 6-8). This is one of the main reasons that makes the whole Chinese experience in Canada to be questioned. Despite their crucial work, the 600 people who died (Wickberg 8), and the terrible life condition all of them had, turns the whole experience into …show more content…
When they first arrived, the prejudice already started to arise, thus provoking several attempts of prohibiting them from entering the country. For instance, the M.P for Victoria was an advocate for the prohibition of the Chinese immigration. In several instances, he attempted to pass resolutions in the parliament that would limit their entrances (Lee 47). His biggest rival, however, was Sir John A. MacDonald, the canadian prime-minister of the time (Lee 45). Despite macdonald agreeing with the fact that the Chinese were undesired, he had his priorities straight. In this case, the completion of the CPR was more important. The CPR had to be completed, as it was used to get the province of British Columbia to join confederation, in which the colonies would finally unite themselves and form the one dominion of Canada. In 1884, however, Macdonald started to show his real hatred towards the Chineses. He established the Royal Commission, that was responsible for the gathering evidence and information regarding the Chinese, that would be used in the future to decide the best way of limiting the immigration in Canada. In 1885, the last year of the construction of the rail line, they presented the arguments that the Chinese were "unassimilable, heathen parasites who avoided paying taxes, obtained most of their supplies from China, and took their fortunes home afterwards." In the end, the parliament
For instance, the Chinese were known for having to do the most dangerous jobs, which included working with explosives (The Chinese experience in Canada 6). Thus, a lot of death unfortunately occurred. The casualties also increased due to the poor conditions, that generated illness. One common disease was called Scurvy, which is caused by a diet that lacks vitamin C (The Chinese Experience in Canada 12-14). The problem was that their families in China did not receive any compensation for their deaths, nor they received a notification. The parents did not even know whether or not their relative was alive (The Chinese experience in Canada 6-8). This is one of the main reasons that makes the whole Chinese experience in Canada to be questioned. Despite their crucial work, the 600 people who died (Wickberg 8), and the terrible life condition all of them had, turns the whole experience into …show more content…
When they first arrived, the prejudice already started to arise, thus provoking several attempts of prohibiting them from entering the country. For instance, the M.P for Victoria was an advocate for the prohibition of the Chinese immigration. In several instances, he attempted to pass resolutions in the parliament that would limit their entrances (Lee 47). His biggest rival, however, was Sir John A. MacDonald, the canadian prime-minister of the time (Lee 45). Despite macdonald agreeing with the fact that the Chinese were undesired, he had his priorities straight. In this case, the completion of the CPR was more important. The CPR had to be completed, as it was used to get the province of British Columbia to join confederation, in which the colonies would finally unite themselves and form the one dominion of Canada. In 1884, however, Macdonald started to show his real hatred towards the Chineses. He established the Royal Commission, that was responsible for the gathering evidence and information regarding the Chinese, that would be used in the future to decide the best way of limiting the immigration in Canada. In 1885, the last year of the construction of the rail line, they presented the arguments that the Chinese were "unassimilable, heathen parasites who avoided paying taxes, obtained most of their supplies from China, and took their fortunes home afterwards." In the end, the parliament