Living in a virtual jail in Canada

Re: “Citizenship in the offing for stateless B.C. resident,” March 18.

I have been in Canada 60 years; I came out from England in 1956 on my mother’s passport when I was nine, as back then, all minor children travelled on a parent’s passport.

I am married to a Canadian, but cannot get either permanent residency or citizen- ship because I do not have a passport. I have never had one.

I thought I was a naturalized Canadian, but that is not the case. There is a section on the permanent residency application where one can explain why you have no passport, and why no one can vouch for you. I attached a letter explaining all this, along with the fact that all my relatives here and in England are deceased.

The answer? Application denied due to lack of passport, even though I have my British birth certificate, my English identity card and my MM 1000 landing card. If they were going to deny the application anyway, why ask for an explanatory letter?

I went to school in Canada, married in Canada and had my children in Canada, but I am in a virtual jail, because I cannot travel outside Canada. The silly thing is, I have a social insurance number, because when I applied for one back in the early 1960s, we were not even asked if we were citizens. I have a B.C. ID card; I was not asked if I was a citizen. I pay taxes, but I cannot vote.

When will the government acquire a modicum of sensibility? Sue McCaskill Victoria