| The building of the Canadian Pacific Railway employed many Chinese workers in the most dangerous and menial jobs. Once the railway was completed, the government imposed a $50 head tax to restrict immigration from China. This fee was raised until it reached $500 in 1903, an enormous sum at the time. These certificates confirmed that the immigrants had paid the tax. The Chinese were the only immigrants who ever had to pay such a tax. RG 76, vol. 712 |