REGINA – Imagine after growing up and living in Canada your whole life, having to prove you’re actually a Canadian.
That’s the nightmare facing Donna Hehir, who’s called Bethune, Saskatchewan home since she was only six-months-old, close to 70 years ago.
“Mom and I sailed on the first of May, from South Hampton in 1946,” she explained Thursday. “We landed in Halifax, got on a train and came west to Regina.”
Donna said her mother was Welsh, and her father was a Canadian serviceman, so she was surprised when she learned she wasn’t considered a Canadian citizen.
“I feel like I am a Canadian. I’ve lived and worked and done everything here. And now for them to tell me I have to prove it?”
Her husband Bob’s health prevented the pair from travelling since before 9/11 when you didn’t always need a passport to enter the United States.
However, now he’s feeling better and they want to visit family south of the border.
When Donna applied for a passport last fall she learned she first needed to apply for citizenship.
“It’s frustrating, very frustrating,” explained Bob. “We’d like to do some travelling but apparently we can’t.”
Donna said she was surprised but submitted the documents, assuming things would be resolved quickly.
She was shocked when she said she was told six months later that an investigation was underway that could take some time to complete.
“We’re on hold again for another two years, and you just don’t’ know with health conditions, what can happen,” Donna added.
The pair is now stuck in limbo and says getting any answers has been a challenge, like how Donna managed to work, pay taxes and vote in elections without being a citizen.
“I just feel like my country has rejected me, for whatever reason.”
Citizenship and Immigration Canada was unable to comment on Donna’s case directly, or give an update on the timeline of her application.
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