A Campbell River couple is tired of the foot dragging by the Vital Statistics Agency of B.C. and are taking it to court over the agencysa国际传媒檚 refusal to register their sonsa国际传媒檚 traditional First Nations name.

Crystal A.J. Smith and her partner Raymond Shaw applied in February to register the birth of their son whom they named 位ug史al蓹s Ksa国际传媒檃lasa国际传媒檃sk Shaw, a name derived from both parentssa国际传媒� Indigenous heritage.

sa国际传媒淲e had to take this step because my son still does not have a birth certificate and waiting nine plus months is not okay,sa国际传媒� Smith told the Campbell River Mirror. sa国际传媒淭hey are dragging their feet and causing harm to Indigenous families that may chose to name their children in their languages.sa国际传媒�

READ MORE:

Smith and Shaw filed a petition on Oct. 5 with the B.C. Supreme Court challenging the agencysa国际传媒檚 refusal on constitutional grounds.

The couplesa国际传媒檚 application to register their childsa国际传媒檚 name was improperly refused, according to court documents, on the basis of the inability of government systems to accept and reproduce the alphabetic characters and corresponding naming standards adopted by the Vital Statistics Agency. Those standards restrict the available options to names composed of Latin alphabetic letters, apostrophes, hyphens, periods and a standard set of French accents. The petition also states that the refusal must be set aside on the basis that it violates sections 2(b) and 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and s. 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.

In the petition, Smith and Shaw say they feel forced into this circumstance due to the financial hardship caused by being unable to access benefits that are conditional on an approved birth registration.

A birth must be registered before the parents may apply for a birth certificate, which is, in turn, required to apply for sa国际传媒渙ther important documents like a social insurance number or a passport.sa国际传媒� Parents also register for services such as the Canada Child benefit and Medical Services Plan at the same time as the birth registration application. Rejecting 位ug史al蓹s Ksa国际传媒檃lasa国际传媒檃sk Shawsa国际传媒檚 registration meant his parents couldnsa国际传媒檛 access those services and, in fact, paid for medical expenses out of their own pockets. They were eventually able to access those benefits in the interim when the agency agreed to register 位ug史al蓹ssa国际传媒� birth by just using his last name.

sa国际传媒淭hey are causing me and our family harm and thatsa国际传媒檚 not okay,sa国际传媒� Smith said. sa国际传媒淭hey are harming my nine-month-old by not giving him a birth certificate and thatsa国际传媒檚 not okay. We are done compromising, itsa国际传媒檚 time for change, time for the government to change.sa国际传媒�

位ug史al蓹s Ksa国际传媒檃lasa国际传媒檃sk Shaw was born Jan. 12. His mother is of Tssa国际传媒檓syen and Haisla heritage who has been traditionally adopted into the Heiltsuk Nation. His father, the actual petitioner to the court, is Li千史i艂dax虒史 from the Wei Wai Kum First Nation. 位ug史al蓹ssa国际传媒� first name is in K史ak虛史ala, the language of the Li千史i艂dax虒史 people. 位ug史al蓹ssa国际传媒� second name, Ksa国际传媒檃lasa国际传媒檃sk, is Smsa国际传媒檃lgyax which is the language of Smithsa国际传媒檚 history.

Itsa国际传媒檚 important to the couple to have a name reflective of their individual cultural heritage and the lands associated with it. The couple also wants to perpetuate the languages of their heritage and naming their child according to their systems of spelling is important to them.

The couple have pointed out that the rejection of their sonsa国际传媒檚 name contravenes the spirit of Truth and Reconciliation as well adherence by the province to the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of indigenous Peoples, which the provincial government recently unveiled a five-year action plan for implementation.

sa国际传媒淚 hope by doing this it causes much needed change,sa国际传媒� Smith said. sa国际传媒淭hat Indigenous families can name their children in their languages without this dismissal of our languages. That our languages are accepted. This is for any future Indigenous children, for Indigenous mothers, Indigenous parents, this is for our ancestors who had their names stripped from them. This is for 位ug史al蓹s Ksa国际传媒檃lasa国际传媒檃sk Shaw and we will not stop, change is coming.sa国际传媒�

editor@campbellrivermirror.com
Like us on and follow us on