Strict Baby Naming Rules In BC Stop This Couple From Registering Child's Indigenous Name
The parents say the name means "the place where people were blessed."
A baby in a hospital. Right: The B.C. legislature building.
Two parents in B.C. have been unable to officially name their baby because of government restrictions on what characters are allowed.
Crystal Smith and Raymond Shaw gave their son a traditional Kwak’wala name and, three months after the birth, have still not been able to register the name due to the lettering.
The province has strict rules when it comes to naming babies. The name of a baby has to use the Latin alphabet, and only French accents are accepted.
A name can include apostrophes, hyphens and a period — but there is no allowance for other symbols or characters, including many of those used in Indigenous languages.
Smith told Global News that it was "infuriating" when she found out that her son's name — λugʷaləs K’ala’ask Shaw — couldn't be registered in the province.
She added that her son's name means "the place where people were blessed."
"I ended up calling the office and I told them that this is his name, there is no other name that we could give him," Smith said.
Although the couple has tried to get λugʷaləs' name registered multiple times, they have not had any success.
The province rejected the Kwak’wala spelling of the name, and Smith said that they even suggested a "made-up anglicized version," according to Global News.
While the parents wait for the province to make changes, they are reportedly unable to apply for a CareCard, tax credits or even day care due to not having a birth certificate.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.