HILDEN - John Langille's sense of Canadian pride has been severely tested.
The 47-year-old Hilden resident is shocked and upset that he has been denied a Canadian passport. Langille's parents are Canadian and John was born in Germany while his dad was in the Armed Forces with NATO. John was subsequently issued a birth certificate from the Department of National Defence in Ottawa.
John and his wife, Theresa, are now planning a trip to the United States in the new year so he applied for a passport in late July. However, he received a letter from Passport Canada stating he was declined and needed to prove his Canadian citizenship despite having a birth certificate from the Canadian government's Department of Natural Defense.
"It feels like a kick in the stomach. It's sad and it just feels like I'm an immigrant even though I've lived in Canada since I was one years old," said Langille, who is a truck driver in Brookfield.
He said perhaps security concerns, especially since the terrorist attacks in the United States 11 years ago, are the reasoning, but that doesn't lessen the shock. Langille will continue the process of compiling documents and sending them to Citizenship and Immigration Canada with the hopes of obtaining a passport.
"It could take up to six months and they still might deny me. It's bureaucratic nonsense."
And Langille isn't alone in his passport fight.
"I've read stories on the Net about other people going through the same thing. We call ourselves ‘lost Canadians' and there's thousands of people out there who may not even realize they're not recognized," as a Canadian, he said.
Langille hopes that sharing his story will encourage others in the same situation to put pressure on the government to address the situation. Langille said he's been in contact with Cumberland Colchester Musquodoiboit Valley MP Scott Armstrong, who said he'll take the issue to Parliament. Langille isn't sure how effective that will be but is pleased with the effort.
"They (Parliament) know about it and don't want to deal with it," said Langille.
Langille's wife, Theresa, is also frustrated with the situation.
"It almost feels insulting, especially because his father was serving the country," said Theresa.
"I think it's awful. It's a slap in the face," said Langille's mom Eleanor from Truro, adding her husband John, who is deceased, would also be disheartened.
Bill Brown, media spokesman for Citizenship and Immigration Canada, told the Truro Daily News "each case is different" but traditionally "a child of the military generally can get a passport and often times there's a pretty good reason if someone's denied."
Brown said anyone in the same situation should contact the government to see if a solution can be found.
mchiasson@trurodaily.com
