The Winnipeg premiere of the NFB documentary In the Shadow of Gold Mountain was held at the Muriel Richardson Auditorium, Winnipeg Art Gallery, last Tuesday.
B’nai Brith Canada’s Midwest Region, the Winnipeg Chinese Culture and Community Centre and the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) hosted.
Montreal filmmaker Karen Cho, who wrote and directed, was on hand to discuss her film and answer questions.
Dr. Joseph Du, president of the Winnipeg Chinese Culture and Community Centre, and David Matas, B’nai Brith’s Senior Legal Counsel, chaired the event.
Attended by a standing- room-only audience of 350, In the Shadow of Gold Mountain was presented to increase awareness of the injustice experienced by Chinese immigrants to Canada, and help in the cause of building respectful relationships among all Canadians and support for the principle of redress.
“I am exceedingly proud to be part of the organizing committee of this significant project,” Dr. Du said. “Through these joint efforts with B’nai Brith Canada and the National Film Board, I have come to comprehend the significance of promoting greater understanding and harmony among all Canadians.
“Karen’s film was designed to re-create, re-examine and re-think an important and seemingly forgotten chapter in our history. It is my sincere hope that through the profound stories of this extraordinary film, Canadians will de inspired to support the Chinese community to redress the Chinese Head Tax and Exclusion Act.”
In his opening remarks Matas said that there is a right to redress for grave human rights violations. B’nai Brith Canada participated in the planning of a redress public forum and endorsed in principle the right to redress for all those who are victims of fundamental human rights violations. Those attending that forum in Winnipeg on March 28, 2004 endorsed that principle and a redress declaration.
The declaration began with this statement:
"Canada shall make available adequate, effective and prompt redress for violations of fundamental human rights.”
The declaration had sections on the scope of the obligation to provide redress, the inapplicability of statutes of limitations, a definition of the victims of violations entitled to redress, and the remedies to which victims were entitled, including access to justice, reparations and access to information about the violations. The declaration endorsed the principle of non-discrimination amongst victims.
Cho, a fifth-generation Canadian of mixed heritage, discovered that half her family wasn’t welcome in the country they called home. While Canada encouraged and rewarded immigration from some countries, it restricted entry to many, including Jews, and it imposed laws that singled out the Chinese as unwanted and unwelcome. Her journey to uncover stories from the last living survivors of the Chinese Head Tax and Exclusion Act took her from Montreal to Vancouver.
This dark chapter in history, from 1885 until 1947, plunged the Chinese community in Canada into decades of debt and family separation. At the centre of the film are personal accounts of extraordinary Chinese Canadians who survived an era that threatened to eradicate their entire community.
Through a rich melding of history, poetry and raw emotion, this documentary sheds light on an era that shaped the identity of generations. With deeply moving testimonials, it reveals the profound ways this history still casts its shadow.
In her message to those who attended, Governor General Adrienne Clarkson said, “Karen Cho’s film eloquently illustrates the personal and social consequences of exclusion and ostracism. The testimonials she has gathered shed light on the impact that the Head Tax and Exclusion Act had on the Chinese immigrants to Canada. Her film shows how this policy shaped the identity of individuals and the Chinese community for generations, as well as their resilience in the face of incredible obstacles. Fortunately, their descendents know a more inclusive Canada.”
Senator Vivienne Poy commended the film for “recounting the untold history of Canada, through the moving stories of those who lived in a time when the Canadian government practiced institutional discrimination against the Chinese community in the form of Head Tax and Exclusion.”
Manitoba Premier Gary Doer noted that the film “chronicles the unjust and painful experiences of thousands of Chinese immigrants to Canada and I am delighted that tonight’s screening is supported by a group of partners including B’nai Brith Canada, an organization with a proud history of educational and social programming.”
Sam Katz, Mayor of Winnipeg, expressed confidence that “this production will help educate and inform our citizens about our nation’s past. It is important that we take the time to learn about our mistakes, so we never endure them again.”
Conservative MP Inky Mark (Manitoba riding of Dauphin-Swan River-Marquette) has submitted to Parliament a Private Member’s Bill calling for the redress of both the Chinese Head Tax and the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1923. “I have requested that the government sit with Chinese Community leaders to negotiate a compensation package that will be put into an education foundation. In this way our heritage and history will not be neglected in Canada.”
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