位ug史al蓹s KB次元官网网址檃laB次元官网网址檃sk Shaw now has his name on his birth certificate.

It only took 13 months of his Campbell River parentsB次元官网网址� wrestling with B.C.B次元官网网址檚 Vital Statistics agency and then finally taking them to court to make it happen.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e super excited and, like, really happy to have received this,B次元官网网址� 位ug史al蓹sB次元官网网址� mother, Crystal Smith, said. B次元官网网址淏ut weB次元官网网址檙e also really wanting to make sure that itB次元官网网址檚 an opportunity for everyone to get B次元官网网址� all Indigenous mothers and adults.B次元官网网址�

位ug史al蓹s was born in Jan. 12, 2022 and Smith and her partner Raymond Shaw went to register him and obtain a birth certificate in February 2022.

Smith and Shaw had planned to give 位ug史al蓹s a traditional name since before he was born. Shaw is Wei Wai Kum (Campbell River), Smith is TsymB次元官网网址檚yen and Haisla and has been adopted into the Heiltsuk Nation.

They had discussed the possibility of a traditional name with the head of ShawB次元官网网址檚 family. They were particularly interested in a place name from somewhere in the Wei Wai Kum territory. When 位ug史al蓹s was born, they settled on a name of a mountain in Loughborough Inlet that translates to B次元官网网址渢he place where people were blessed.B次元官网网址�

But when they went to register the name using the provinceB次元官网网址檚 online registration system, it wouldnB次元官网网址檛 accept the KwakB次元官网网址檞ala characters in the name. So, they sent in a paper copy of the application but that attempt ran into a technical glitch and so they had to re-do it. During the second attempt they pointed out the correspondence had spelled the name wrong. Smith offered to email the name with the proper lettering but was told by the staff member that they couldnB次元官网网址檛 do that. So, she spelled it all out and the employee wrote that down and said it would take a couple of weeks.

But on March 3, 2022, they received a letter from Registrar General Jack Shewchuk saying the proposed name contravened the Vital Statistics AgencyB次元官网网址檚 current naming standards which only recognizes the standard letters in the Latin alphabet, the standard set of French characters (the acute and grave accents, the circumflex, the umlaut and cedilla) and the use of apostrophes, periods and hyphens as long as they are not next to each other or lead to confusion in interpretation.

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The agency offered variations on 位ug史al蓹sB次元官网网址� name that would be acceptable to the system but Smith and Shaw were not willing to compromise, saying at the time, B次元官网网址淵eah, IB次元官网网址檓 done compromising. Indigenous people have been compromising since colonization happened.B次元官网网址�

After more months of Vital Statistics B次元官网网址渄ragging their feet,B次元官网网址� the couple took the agency to court. They filed a petition on Oct. 5, 2022, with the B.C. Supreme Court challenging the agencyB次元官网网址檚 refusal on constitutional grounds.

A birth must be registered before the parents may apply for a birth certificate, which is, in turn, required to apply for other important documents like a social insurance number or a passport.

Earlier this year, Vital Statistics contacted the coupleB次元官网网址檚 lawyers to negotiate a solution and avoid taking the issue to court. A deal was worked out that gives 位ug史al蓹s a birth certificate with his full and proper name and Vital Statistics gets six months to roll out a system that allows everyone to use traditional names. If they donB次元官网网址檛 do that after six months, the couple can take them back to court.

The couple is happy about their success but Smith emphasizes that this isnB次元官网网址檛 something the agency should be patting themselves on the back about.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 something that should have been done long time ago,B次元官网网址� Smith said. B次元官网网址淲e shouldnB次元官网网址檛 have had to fight. We shouldnB次元官网网址檛 have had to wait this long.B次元官网网址�

ItB次元官网网址檚 not even a step in the right direction, she said, theyB次元官网网址檙e really just B次元官网网址渢urning to the right direction.B次元官网网址�

And now that 位ug史al蓹s is getting his birth certificate, his family is preparing for the next bureaucratic battle. This time with the federal passport office.

B次元官网网址淪o, once we get our certificate, weB次元官网网址檒l be applying for a passport and weB次元官网网址檙e like 90 per cent sure weB次元官网网址檙e going to get denied,B次元官网网址� Smith said. B次元官网网址淥nce they deny us, weB次元官网网址檒l take them to court as well.B次元官网网址�

In the meantime, they savour this victory and look forward to everybody benefitting from it.

B次元官网网址淏ut thereB次元官网网址檚 a lot more work to be done and, yeah, it needs to be for everyone, not just 位ug史al蓹s.B次元官网网址�

editor@campbellrivermirror.com
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