Human rights complaint filed after another Heiltsuk First Nation member denied bank account using status card
CBC
When Sharif Bhamji, 37, completed the online portion of a Toronto Dominion Bank account application, he thought the process had gone smoothly.
That changed four days later on May 5, 2021, when he appeared in person at the TD branch near his Surrey residence to verify his identity. When he presented his Indian status card, he alleges the teller told him the ID was fake.
After he became agitated with the bank teller, they called police.
Now, Bhamji is filing a discrimination complaint against the bank with the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
Bhamji, who identifies as Muslim-Indigenous, says the teller asked if he was Sharif Mohammed Bhamji, to which he said yes.
"She just didn't believe it and from that point on things went downhill," Bhamji said.
Bhamji's father, Mohammed Bhamji, is Muslim from India. His mother, Paula Rose Bhamji is from Bella Bella, home to the Heiltsuk First Nation on B.C.'s northwest coast.
Historically, under the Indian Act, Paula Bhamji would have lost her Indigenous status when she married a non-Indigenous man decades ago. Subsequently, Sharif wouldn't have status either.
However, the implementation of Bill C-31 legislation in 1985 changed this, making it possible for Indigenous women and their children to retain their status.
According to Bhamji's complaint, police said bank staff felt threatened and scared he would return to the branch.
The complaint also alleges police told Bhamji he wasn't allowed back at the branch, and police said the bank teller did not believe the name on the card was his, so they refused to open the account.
In an email, Surrey RCMP media relations officer Vanessa Munn said she confirmed police responded to calls about threats being uttered at the bank on May 5, 2021, and that they followed up with a visit to the residence of the man who left the bank.
"No criminal charges were forwarded as a result of the investigation and the police file was concluded," Munn said.
According to TD corporate public affairs manager Ryan Sang-Lee, bank officials are "troubled" by Bhamji's experience and are offering him a public apology.