Immigration.ca - Canada Immigration News - August 2007
Citizenship and Immigration Canada has been forced to do some damage control after a recent controversy arose over a policy requiring Sikh applicants to change their names on their permanent residency applications.
A paper in India reported that Jaspal Singh’s application had been delayed due to his name. A letter was sent from Immigration Canada to his wife, who was awaiting him in Calgary, saying that the name did not ‘qualify for the purpose of immigration to Canada’ because the last name was too common.
As The Gazette explains: "In the Sikh religion, all men were given the last name Kuar and men the last name Singh, to represent the abolition of class and caste inequalities in Indian society."
However, according to Immigration Canada officials, this led to an inefficient processing of files and, thus, a policy was introduced whereby Sikh applicants were required to supply a second last name.
Many applicants find this policy to be offensive and an affront to their beliefs. Some feel that it is a part of their identity and that being asked to change that goes against everything Canada should stand for.
The uproar has spread past India to the Sikh community worldwide where websites are encouraging people to voice their discontent with Immigration Canada. Officials at the Immigration office, however, deny that anyone is being forced to change their name and insists that this is simply a misunderstanding brought on by a "poorly-worded" letter.
Source: The Gazette
http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette /news/story.html?id=cd9edaea-3ebc-4d4a-92ce-96d15a89545c&k=1442&p=1
