This week, the Canadian government announced that Indigenous Canadians can now reclaim their traditional names on their passports and other official IDs.
According to Radio-Canada, this decision came after a 2015 call to action report from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
The TRC recommended that the government enable survivors of residential schools to reclaim their traditional names on all their official ID documents. In other words, Indigenous Canadians would apply for a names-change process. In addition, the government would wave administrative fees for a five year period.
Marc Miller, Minister of Indigenous Services, clarified that this decision applies to all First Nations peoples. Moreover, Marco Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, confirmed that they will wave all the costs of name-change process. This would apply, for instance, to passports, certificates of citizenship and permanent residency cards.
Miller recognizes that not all Indigenous people associate themselves with a Canadian identity. However, he believes that restoring traditional names to those who choose to have a Canadian passport still has important implications in terms of identity.
Source: Radio-Canada
Original Article in French by: Sarah Rachel Moncada-Oseguera
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