TORONTO, April 11 /CNW Telbec/ - The Honourable Beverley J. Oda, Minister

of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women, announced today in a symbolic

ceremony that ex-gratia payments of $20,000 are now being issued to eligible

conjugal partners of Head Tax payers who are now deceased.

     "We are delivering on our commitment to recognize the effects of past

immigration restrictions on the conjugal partners of Chinese Head Tax payers,"

said Minister Oda. "These are individuals who suffered hardship and

separation, and yet contributed so much to our society. Today, we pay tribute

to their contributions and recognize their essential role in the building of

Canada."

     The ex-gratia symbolic payments to the conjugal partners of Chinese Head

Tax payers who are now deceased follow on previous payments to Head Tax payers

and on Prime Minister Harper's statement in the House of Commons. On June 22,

2006, the Prime Minister offered a full apology to Chinese Canadians for the

Head Tax and expressed deep sorrow for the subsequent exclusion of Chinese

immigrants.

     The Prime Minister's apology and the ex-gratia payments that have

followed acknowledge the stigma and hardship associated with having paid a tax

that, while legal at the time, was race-based and inconsistent with the values

Canadians hold today.

     On December 1, 2006, the application process for ex-gratia payments to

conjugal partners was launched. To date, over 500 applications have been

received by the Department of Canadian Heritage and are at various stages of

the assessment process. Several payments have already been sent to the

recipients whose applications have been fully processed.

     The Head Tax was imposed on Chinese immigrants entering Canada from 1885

to 1923. A similar tax existed in the Dominion of Newfoundland between 1906