E/CN.4/2004/18/Add.2 page 14 and the business community, including through abuse of power, neglect, encroachment and invasion of hazardous industrial materials, in 1970 all of the community was forcefully removed without proper compensation. 38. The case of Africville is emblematic of the past condition of people of African descent in Nova Scotia. The Black community in Nova Scotia faces numerous challenges, including, the overrepresentation in prisons, a dependence on the welfare system, and increase of representation in low-income housing and other problems in the criminal justice system. 39. The Special Rapporteur hopes that the recent nomination of a Minister of African Nova Scotian Affairs is a demonstration of the Government of Nova Scotia’s will to address the issues raised above in close consultation with the people concerned. C. Chinese head tax 40. Representatives of the Chinese Canadian National Association have informed the Special Rapporteur that for years they have been seeking compensation from the federal Government for imposition of head taxes on Chinese migrants. As submitted by this association, Chinese immigration to Canada began around 1858 in response to the gold rush in British Columbia, the westernmost province of Canada. At first, these migrants came from the West Coast of the United States. When the Canadian Pacific Railway was constructed between 1881 and 1885, however, Chinese were recruited directly from China as labourers to help build the railway. While there is no accurate record of the number of Chinese recruited to Canada as indentured labourers, it was estimated that 15,710 Chinese entered Canada between 1881 and 1884. The representatives of the association argued that, as the Chinese were viewed as inferior to persons of European descent, they were not considered desirable citizens. As the economic situation in British Columbia began to deteriorate in the 1860s, however, agitation against the Chinese began to grow. Various attempts were made by politicians in British Columbia to curb Chinese immigration in response to the rising anti-Asian sentiment. Some of these measures include the infamous Chinese Immigration Acts (from 1885 to 1923) and Chinese Exclusion Act (1923). 41. The Chinese Immigration Acts took the form of a head tax imposed on every person of Chinese origin entering Canada. From 1885 to 1923, it varied from $50 to $500. The Government of Canada made a sizeable profit from the imposition of the head tax on Chinese people. Between 1886 and 1923, the total revenue collected from Chinese is estimated at Can$ 23 million. 42. Members of the Chinese community alleged that the head tax and the Chinese Exclusion Act had a devastating impact on their community, contributing for a long time to their marginalization in the Canadian society. During the exclusion era, Chinese immigrants faced various forms of discrimination in their social, economic and political lives. Economically, they were often denied entry to various occupations and professions. The Chinese Canadian National Association as well as other Chinese organizations like the Metro Toronto Chinese and South Asian Legal Clinic are now asking for redress from the Government of Canada for those historical injustices. The Special Rapporteur notes in that context that in 1988 an agreement was reached between the federal Government and the National Association of Japanese Canadians to redress State treatment of Japanese Canadians during World War II. The Japanese-Canadian redress is seen as an important milestone for that community and for Canada and could,