As the clock ticks down on Monday's application deadline, many Chinese-Canadians who were forced to pay Canada's controversial head tax in the late 1800s and early 1900s have not applied for a federal redress payment.

Since those people could miss out if they don't apply for $20,000 in government compensation, Chinese community advocates are calling for the deadline to be extended by another three months.

"My concern is that there are people out there that haven't applied that are in nursing homes or in communities outside the Chinese-Canadian community,'' said Sid Tan, a spokesman for the Head Tax Families Society of Canada.

Tan said he's tried to get the word out about compensation through Chinese-language media, but he's worried that the lack of English media coverage is leaving some people in the dark.

From 1885 to 1923, about 81,000 people paid the head tax, which was designed to curb Chinese immigration into Canada and resulted in the separation of many families, some of whom were never reunited.

Official apology made

In June 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper made an official apology to the Chinese community for the injustice.

"For over six decades, these malicious measures, aimed solely at the Chinese, were implemented with deliberation by the Canadian state," the prime minister said.

"This was a grave injustice and one we are morally obligated to acknowledge."

Harper also offered symbolic payments to compensate head-tax payers, or their spouses, and funding toward community projects.

Since that announcement, over 650 living Chinese head-tax payers, spouses and people who were in a relationship with a Chinese head-tax payer have come forward to claim the compensation.

About 150 more have submitted applications. 

With files from the Canadian Press