Continuous journey regulation
Encyclopedia
The Canadian government’s
first attempt to restrict immigration from India
was to pass an order-in-council
on January 8, 1908, that prohibited immigration of persons who "in the opinion of the Minister of the Interior" did not "come from the country of their birth or citizenship by a continuous journey and or through tickets purchased before leaving their country of their birth or nationality." In practice this applied only to ships that began their voyage in India, as the great distance usually necessitated a stopover in Japan
or Hawaii
. These regulations came at a time when Canada was accepting massive numbers of immigrants (over 400,000 in 1913 alone – a figure that remains unsurpassed to this day), almost all of whom came from Europe
.
of Indians, including the right to vote, hold public office, serve on juries, or practice as pharmacists, lawyers, and accountants.
However, because India, like Canada, was part of the British Empire
, Canadian authorities did not pass exclusion laws explicitly targeting those of Indian origin. The Imperial authorities in London
had noted Indian resentment when Australia enacted immigration restrictions
implicitly designed to restrict non-European immigration in 1901, based on similar legislation in South Africa
. New Zealand
had passed similar restrictive legislation in 1899.
When Canada started making provisions to block immigration from India, London warned it to be cautious in its approach and to be aware that its actions might inflame nationalist fervour in India. With this in mind, Canadian immigration authorities decided to indirectly halt Indian immigration to the country.
The new regulation was soon challenged with the arrival of the S.S. Monteagle in British Columbia in late February 1908. The ship carried more than 200 passengers, 105 of whom had boarded in Calcutta. A number of the passengers were ordered deported as they did not comply with the new regulation. The orders were challenged in court. Justice Clement of the Supreme Court of B.C. quashed the deportation orders on March 24, 1908, after he found the regulation to be invalid, as the Immigration Act did not authorize the delegation of decision making to the Minister of the Interior, as stated in the regulation.
The amendment was enacted on April 10, 1908. The government passed an order-in-council under the amended Act on May 27, 1908. A further regulation was passed by an order-in-council on June 3, 1908, which stated that “No immigrant of Asiatic origin shall be permitted to enter Canada unless in actual and personal possession in his or her own right of two hundred dollars, unless such person is a native or subject of an Asiatic country in regard to which special statutory regulations are in force or with which the Government of Canada has made a special treaty, agreement or convention.”
While neither regulation expressly referred to India, they effectively stopped immigration from India as the $200 cash requirement limit was a significant hurdle for most potential immigrants from India, and the continuous journey regulation was made effective by pressuring steamship companies not to provide direct service between Canada and India or to sell through tickets from Indian ports.
Canadian Pacific did run a very lucrative shipping line between Vancouver and Calcutta. However, the Canadian government forced the company to stop this service. It was now impossible to come via continuous journey to Canada.
A new, revised Immigration Act was enacted on May 4, 1910. It included provisions similar, though not the same as provisions in the 1906 Act, which authorized the continuous journey and $200 cash requirement regulations. The two 1908 regulations were reenacted on May 9, 1910, by orders-in-council P.C. 920 and P.C. 926.
The judgement did not result in any significant increase in attempts at immigration from India. Both regulations underwent judicial scrutiny again in November 1913, in the course of two cases before the Supreme Court of B.C. The first involved Bhagwan Singh Jakh, a known revolutionary from Punjab, India, who had entered Canada by falsely representing that he was a returning resident of Canada. The second case involved 39 passengers from India who arrived in Victoria, B.C., on October 17, 1913, on the ship Panama Maru, and who were detained and ordered deported under the Immigration Act.
While court proceedings were still pending, Jakh was forcefully deported on November 19, 1913, in the face of a writ of habeas corpus issued by the Supreme Court of B.C. On November 28, 1913, Mr. Justice Hunter quashed the deportation orders made against 35 of the 39 passengers (applications concerning four passengers were withdrawn when the case was heard), by finding that: (a) the $200 cash requirement regulation was invalid as its reference to “Asiatic origin” did not conform with Section 37 of the 1910 Act, which authorized regulations in respect of persons of the "Asiatic race"; and (b) the continuous journey regulation was invalid for the reasons given by Justice Morrison in the Rahim case.
Word of Justice Hunter's decision spread abroad, with Indians resident in Canada urging others to come to Canada before the rules were changed again.
"The federal government's continuous-journey provision remained law until 1947, as did most BC anti-South Asian legislation. Because of community pressure and representations by the government of India, Canada allowed the wives and dependent children of South Asian Canadian residents to immigrate in 1919, and by the mid-1920s a small flow of wives and children had been established. This did not counter the effect of migration by South Asian Canadians to India and the US, which by the mid-1920s had reduced the South Asian population in Canada to about 1300."
, from Amritsar
, was a well-to-do government contractor in Singapore
who was aware of the problems that Indians were facing in getting to Canada due to exclusion laws. Though Gurdit Singh was apparently aware of the January 1914 regulations when he chartered the Komagata Maru, he continued with his purported goal of challenging the continuous journey regulation and opening the door for immigration from India to Canada. The passengers consisted of 340 Sikhs, 24 Muslims, and 12 Hindus, all British subject
s.
When the Komagata Maru arrived in Canadian waters, it was not allowed to dock. The government mobilised , a former Royal Navy
ship under the command of Commander Hose, with troops from the 11th Regiment Irish Fusiliers of Canada, 72nd Regiment "Seaforth Highlanders of Canada", and the 6th Regiment "The Duke of Connaught's Own Rifles". In the end, only 24 passengers were admitted to Canada, since the ship had violated the exclusion laws, the passengers did not have the required funds, and they had not sailed directly from India. The ship was turned around and forced to depart on July 23 for Asia.
The Komagata Maru incident was widely cited at the time by Indian groups to highlight discrepancies in Canadian immigration laws. Further, the inflamed passions in the wake of the incident were widely cultivated by the Indian revolutionary organisation, the Ghadar Party
, to rally support for its aims.
On May 23, 2008, the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia unanimously passed a resolution "that this Legislature apologizes for the events of May 23, 1914, when 376 passengers of the Komagata Maru, stationed off Vancouver harbour, were denied entry by Canada. The House deeply regrets that the passengers, who sought refuge in our country and our province, were turned away without benefit of the fair and impartial treatment befitting a society where people of all cultures are welcomed and accepted."
On August 3, 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper
appeared at the 13th annual Ghadri Babiyan Da Mela (festival) in Surrey, B.C. to issue an apology for the Komagata Maru incident. He said, in response to the House of Commons motion calling for an apology by the government, "On behalf of the government of Canada, I am officially conveying as prime minister that apology."
Some members of the Sikh community were unsatisfied with the apology as they expected it to be made in Parliament. Secretary of State Jason Kenney
said, "The apology has been given and it won't be repeated," thus settling the matter for the federal government.
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
first attempt to restrict immigration from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
was to pass an order-in-council
Order-in-Council
An Order in Council is a type of legislation in many countries, typically those in the Commonwealth of Nations. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the Queen by the Privy Council , but in other countries the terminology may vary.-Assent:Although the Orders are...
on January 8, 1908, that prohibited immigration of persons who "in the opinion of the Minister of the Interior" did not "come from the country of their birth or citizenship by a continuous journey and or through tickets purchased before leaving their country of their birth or nationality." In practice this applied only to ships that began their voyage in India, as the great distance usually necessitated a stopover in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
or Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. These regulations came at a time when Canada was accepting massive numbers of immigrants (over 400,000 in 1913 alone – a figure that remains unsurpassed to this day), almost all of whom came from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Background
During the first two decades of the 20th century, some provinces in Canada enacted laws limiting the civil rightsCivil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
of Indians, including the right to vote, hold public office, serve on juries, or practice as pharmacists, lawyers, and accountants.
However, because India, like Canada, was part of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
, Canadian authorities did not pass exclusion laws explicitly targeting those of Indian origin. The Imperial authorities in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
had noted Indian resentment when Australia enacted immigration restrictions
White Australia policy
The White Australia policy comprises various historical policies that intentionally restricted "non-white" immigration to Australia. From origins at Federation in 1901, the polices were progressively dismantled between 1949-1973....
implicitly designed to restrict non-European immigration in 1901, based on similar legislation in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
had passed similar restrictive legislation in 1899.
When Canada started making provisions to block immigration from India, London warned it to be cautious in its approach and to be aware that its actions might inflame nationalist fervour in India. With this in mind, Canadian immigration authorities decided to indirectly halt Indian immigration to the country.
Continuous Journey Regulation
The government’s first attempt to restrict immigration from India was to pass an order-in-council on January 8, 1908, that prohibited immigration of persons who "in the opinion of the Minister of the Interior" did not "come from the country of their birth or citizenship by a continuous journey and or through tickets purchased before leaving their country of their birth or nationality." In practice this applied only to ships that began their voyage in India, as the great distance usually necessitated a stopover in Japan or Hawaii.The new regulation was soon challenged with the arrival of the S.S. Monteagle in British Columbia in late February 1908. The ship carried more than 200 passengers, 105 of whom had boarded in Calcutta. A number of the passengers were ordered deported as they did not comply with the new regulation. The orders were challenged in court. Justice Clement of the Supreme Court of B.C. quashed the deportation orders on March 24, 1908, after he found the regulation to be invalid, as the Immigration Act did not authorize the delegation of decision making to the Minister of the Interior, as stated in the regulation.
Impact of the Continuous Journey Regulation
The government responded by introducing an amendment to the Immigration Act, which expressly authorized a regulation “to prohibit landing of any specified class of immigrants or any immigrants who have come to Canada otherwise than by continuous journey from the country of which they are natives or citizens and upon through tickets purchased in that country.”The amendment was enacted on April 10, 1908. The government passed an order-in-council under the amended Act on May 27, 1908. A further regulation was passed by an order-in-council on June 3, 1908, which stated that “No immigrant of Asiatic origin shall be permitted to enter Canada unless in actual and personal possession in his or her own right of two hundred dollars, unless such person is a native or subject of an Asiatic country in regard to which special statutory regulations are in force or with which the Government of Canada has made a special treaty, agreement or convention.”
While neither regulation expressly referred to India, they effectively stopped immigration from India as the $200 cash requirement limit was a significant hurdle for most potential immigrants from India, and the continuous journey regulation was made effective by pressuring steamship companies not to provide direct service between Canada and India or to sell through tickets from Indian ports.
Canadian Pacific did run a very lucrative shipping line between Vancouver and Calcutta. However, the Canadian government forced the company to stop this service. It was now impossible to come via continuous journey to Canada.
A new, revised Immigration Act was enacted on May 4, 1910. It included provisions similar, though not the same as provisions in the 1906 Act, which authorized the continuous journey and $200 cash requirement regulations. The two 1908 regulations were reenacted on May 9, 1910, by orders-in-council P.C. 920 and P.C. 926.
Court ruling Continuous Journey Regulation as invalid
The continuous journey regulation came under judicial comment in 1911, in a case before the Supreme Court of B.C. involving Hussain Rahim, a known revolutionary from Bengal, India. On November 9, 1911, Mr. Justice Morrison issued a writ of habeas corpus to quash a deportation order made against Mr. Rahim. In granting the order, the judge commented that the 1910 continuous journey regulation was invalid, as its wording (copied from the 1908 regulation) did not conform with the enacting provision of Paragraph 38(a) of the 1910 Immigration Act.The judgement did not result in any significant increase in attempts at immigration from India. Both regulations underwent judicial scrutiny again in November 1913, in the course of two cases before the Supreme Court of B.C. The first involved Bhagwan Singh Jakh, a known revolutionary from Punjab, India, who had entered Canada by falsely representing that he was a returning resident of Canada. The second case involved 39 passengers from India who arrived in Victoria, B.C., on October 17, 1913, on the ship Panama Maru, and who were detained and ordered deported under the Immigration Act.
While court proceedings were still pending, Jakh was forcefully deported on November 19, 1913, in the face of a writ of habeas corpus issued by the Supreme Court of B.C. On November 28, 1913, Mr. Justice Hunter quashed the deportation orders made against 35 of the 39 passengers (applications concerning four passengers were withdrawn when the case was heard), by finding that: (a) the $200 cash requirement regulation was invalid as its reference to “Asiatic origin” did not conform with Section 37 of the 1910 Act, which authorized regulations in respect of persons of the "Asiatic race"; and (b) the continuous journey regulation was invalid for the reasons given by Justice Morrison in the Rahim case.
Word of Justice Hunter's decision spread abroad, with Indians resident in Canada urging others to come to Canada before the rules were changed again.
"The federal government's continuous-journey provision remained law until 1947, as did most BC anti-South Asian legislation. Because of community pressure and representations by the government of India, Canada allowed the wives and dependent children of South Asian Canadian residents to immigrate in 1919, and by the mid-1920s a small flow of wives and children had been established. This did not counter the effect of migration by South Asian Canadians to India and the US, which by the mid-1920s had reduced the South Asian population in Canada to about 1300."
Legislative countermeasures
As an appeal from Justice Hunter’s decision was limited by law, the government responded quickly, by enacting new continuous journey and $200 cash requirement regulations on January 7, 1914, by orders-in-council P.C. 23 and P.C. 24. The new regulations conformed with the enacting provisions in the 1910 Act, in accordance with Justice Hunter's decision. The new regulations appeared to be immune from any further legal challenge.Komagata Maru Incident
Gurdit Singh SandhuBaba Gurdit Singh
Baba Gurdit Singh was born in 1860 at Sarhali, in Amritsar District Of British Punjab province . He chartered a Japanese ship, the Komagata Maru, in 1914 to go to Canada, reaching Vancouver on May 23, 1914. The government did not allow the ship to anchor. The ship was attacked by the police at night...
, from Amritsar
Amritsar
Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...
, was a well-to-do government contractor in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
who was aware of the problems that Indians were facing in getting to Canada due to exclusion laws. Though Gurdit Singh was apparently aware of the January 1914 regulations when he chartered the Komagata Maru, he continued with his purported goal of challenging the continuous journey regulation and opening the door for immigration from India to Canada. The passengers consisted of 340 Sikhs, 24 Muslims, and 12 Hindus, all British subject
British subject
In British nationality law, the term British subject has at different times had different meanings. The current definition of the term British subject is contained in the British Nationality Act 1981.- Prior to 1949 :...
s.
When the Komagata Maru arrived in Canadian waters, it was not allowed to dock. The government mobilised , a former Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
ship under the command of Commander Hose, with troops from the 11th Regiment Irish Fusiliers of Canada, 72nd Regiment "Seaforth Highlanders of Canada", and the 6th Regiment "The Duke of Connaught's Own Rifles". In the end, only 24 passengers were admitted to Canada, since the ship had violated the exclusion laws, the passengers did not have the required funds, and they had not sailed directly from India. The ship was turned around and forced to depart on July 23 for Asia.
The Komagata Maru incident was widely cited at the time by Indian groups to highlight discrepancies in Canadian immigration laws. Further, the inflamed passions in the wake of the incident were widely cultivated by the Indian revolutionary organisation, the Ghadar Party
Ghadar Party
The Ghadar Party was an organization founded by Punjabi Indians, in the United States and Canada with the aim to liberate India from British rule...
, to rally support for its aims.
Governmental apologies
In response to calls for the government of Canada to address historic wrongs involving immigration and wartime measures, the Conservative government in 2006 created the community historical recognition program to provide grant and contribution funding for community projects linked to wartime measures and immigration restrictions and a national historical recognition program to fund federal initiatives, developed in partnership with various groups. The announcement was made on June 23, 2006, at the time Prime Minister Harper apologized in the House of Commons for the head tax against Chinese immigrants.On May 23, 2008, the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia unanimously passed a resolution "that this Legislature apologizes for the events of May 23, 1914, when 376 passengers of the Komagata Maru, stationed off Vancouver harbour, were denied entry by Canada. The House deeply regrets that the passengers, who sought refuge in our country and our province, were turned away without benefit of the fair and impartial treatment befitting a society where people of all cultures are welcomed and accepted."
On August 3, 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
appeared at the 13th annual Ghadri Babiyan Da Mela (festival) in Surrey, B.C. to issue an apology for the Komagata Maru incident. He said, in response to the House of Commons motion calling for an apology by the government, "On behalf of the government of Canada, I am officially conveying as prime minister that apology."
Some members of the Sikh community were unsatisfied with the apology as they expected it to be made in Parliament. Secretary of State Jason Kenney
Jason Kenney
Jason T. Kenney, PC, MP is Canada's current Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism. He has represented the riding of Calgary Southeast in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997....
said, "The apology has been given and it won't be repeated," thus settling the matter for the federal government.
See also
- Komagata Maru incident
- Human rights in CanadaHuman rights in CanadaSince signing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, the Canadian government has attempted to make universal human rights a part of Canadian law...
- Head tax (Canada)Head tax (Canada)The Chinese head tax was a fixed fee charged to each Chinese person entering Canada. The head tax was first levied after the Canadian parliament passed the Chinese Immigration Act of 1885 and was meant to discourage Chinese people from entering Canada after the completion of the Canadian Pacific...