Protecting white women from Chinese masters
Toronto, Ontario
May, 1914

In Moose Jaw, Quong Wing is waging - and losing - his fight against the law that bans men of Chinese origin from employing white females.

In Toronto, the Ontario government is pouring salt on the wound.

There aren't a large number of Chinese immigrants in the city, but Chinese laundries are springing up all over town. Businesses need employees, and the government is concerned about the corrupting influence Asian men might have on white women.

The Supreme Court of Canada squashed Quong Wing's challenge. Now, Ontario amends the Factory, Shop and Office Building Act prohibits Orientals from employing white females, just like in Saskatchewan.

Want To Know More?

Read the Act to Amend Factory, Shop and Office Building Act S.O. 1914, c.40
The 1902 Royal Commission on Chinese and Japanese Immigration

Did you know?

The average wage paid to the Chinese laundry worker range from $8 to $18 a month, plus room and board. White laundry workers take home $10 to $18 a week

The Guns of August begin to boom as Canada enters The Great War.

On the family front...

The Commissioner of the Juvenile Court is levying fines against parents who don't comply with orders to have their children's tonsils and adenoids removed. In 1999, doctors will go to court to force young Tyler Dueck to undergo chemotherapy for cancer, against his parents wishes. The line between parental responsibility and children's welfare will always be hard to draw