Paul Martin is a weasel. The fiasco over the Chinese head tax should show that he is unfit to be PM. The Canadian government created the $500 head tax in 1885 to discourage Chinese immigration. Further legislation in 1923 banned Chinese people from this country and the hateful law was only repealed in 1947. Certainly, redress is in order.
However, Paul Martin did not apologize in good faith. He sought the advice of lawyers so that his government could duck legal and financial responsibility to those descendants of the head tax payers. Only when the lawyers assured him that his administration would bear no burden, did he offer a too late apology.
I know about historical wrongdoing and am not afraid of the responsibility that goes along with that knowledge. My paternal ancestors had slaves and made manacles for slave ships. I'm sorry for all the horror and grief that my ancestors caused.
Now, that doesn't hurt me to apologize. Why can't Paul Martin do the same?
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