TD Bank settles human rights case with Indigenous Muslim man over status card rejection

A years-long human rights complaint in British Columbia involving a man who says he was denied service and had police called on him while trying to open a bank account has been resolved.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

A years-long human rights complaint in British Columbia involving a man who says he was denied service and had police called on him while trying to open a bank account has been resolved. The case concluded in a traditional washing ceremony held on Sunday evening.

The complaint stems from a May 2021 visit by Heiltsuk Nation member Sharif Mohammed Bhamji to a TD Bank branch in Surrey’s Clayton Heights neighbourhood. Bhamji, whose mother is from Bella Bella on B.C.’s central coast and whose father is from India, says he presented a newly issued Indian status card bearing his name and photograph.

He says bank staff rejected the card as fraudulent, refused to open the account and told him to leave. Police were later dispatched to his home.

The Heiltsuk Tribal Council filed a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission in 2022 on Bhamji’s behalf.

According to the council, the settlement includes confidential financial compensation, funding for the nation’s urban support team in the Lower Mainland, and support to cover costs associated with the washing ceremony.

In a 2022 statement, Bhamji’s mother, Paula Bhamji, described her son as “Indigenous and South Asian,” noting that he is a member of the Heiltsuk First Nation, of Gujarati descent, and a Muslim. She said he had brought a valid status card, which is a federally issued identification document under the Indian Act.

Under the federal Bank Act, Canadians have the right to open a personal account at any bank if they present acceptable identification. The federal government lists the Certificate of Indian Status as an approved form of ID that can be used to open an account.

TD Bank recently announced a separate initiative offering no-fee chequing accounts to people who identify as Indigenous, a program the bank says does not require customers to provide documentation.