Denying Your Birthplace?

Paul Russell: I'm from Montreal, not Montréal

Tuesday's Post carried a small story about a federal policy that bans Canadians from listing "Jerusalem, Israel," as their birthplace on their passports, due to the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians over the control of the city. This letter from a reader attempted to bring the issue to our shores. Never mind “Jerusalem, Israel,” just try getting “Montreal” listed as a place of birth in a Canadian passport. I was told by the pleasant passport clerk last time I applied that the city’s name is not spelled that way; "it’s Montréal.” I’m an English Canadian, I wanted to tell her — my identity is bound up with coming from Montreal, not Montréal. But I needed my passport, so I kept quiet. Oh well, que voulez-vous? Sheldon Goldfarb, Vancouver. Link to this | E-mail this | Digg this | Post to del.icio.us Posted Wednesday, July 11, 2007 1:43 PM by Paul Russell