CPP-Ottawa

[IvanP]

I thought Quebec would recognize whatever your legal name was when you immigrated and only disallowed changing your name after once you settle in Quebec. But they are pretty strict.

They don't disallow it, they just don't (or refuse to) use it. Every form Quebec uses asks for name at birth, and that's what they use when they issue whatever card or tax refund or other document they are issuing. But it's her legal name as far as Canada is concerned, and she uses it for work, banking, etc.

 

[blueangel371115]

They don't disallow it, they just don't (or refuse to) use it. Every form Quebec uses asks for name at birth, and that's what they use when they issue whatever card or tax refund or other document they are issuing. But it's her legal name as far as Canada is concerned, and she uses it for work, banking, etc.

I read somewhere that all except the Medicare card (RAMQ) they have to honor what your PR card says. So if you have changed your name and your PR card is issued in that name then they have to for your driver's license, banking etc. since your SIN, which they need for these things, won't match with your maiden name. Mine will be a royal mess as my insurance through my husband's work, which is not a Quebec company, is in my married name as my ID"s here are ( I hadn't had time to change it on my passport before my CSQ had to be sent to the CIC, due to a death in the family) but it is noted as another name I use. so we'll see. Maybe I'll get someone nice that will let it slide since either way I'm going to change it anyway ( if I use it socially for five years I can go to court and change it apparently). Unfortunately my honesty gets to me, some of those places wouldn't know my married name was not my maiden name if I didn't tell them.

 

[MysticMidnight]

That's about right. My wife's CSQ has her maiden name, but her PR card has her married name. Her provincial health card and her hospital card have her maiden name, but her name on her prescription drug card (from work) is her married name. Her SIN card has her married name. Women (and I guess men) aren't allowed to change their names when they get married in Quebec, so it creates an odd situation when people immigrate to Quebec after having changed their names elsewhere.

It doesn't interfere with life except when I give a blank stare to the pharmacist when he/she asks for my wife's name. You'd think that after months and months of picking up her BC on the way home I'd remember, but I never do.

Holy crap on a cracker is that confusing.

 

[IvanP]

Holy crap on a cracker is that confusing.

Only two choices. Easy to guess if you have three guesses!

 

[MysticMidnight]

Only two choices. Easy to guess if you have three guesses!

Lol, true, but typically they only like to give you one guess.

 

[IvanP]

Lol, true, but typically they only like to give you one guess.

At least I'm not guessing her first name... that could really get me in trouble.

 

[blueangel371115]

At least I'm not guessing her first name... that could really get me in trouble.

Yes most definitely. That must be really difficult though if her SIN is in her married name, how could they file taxes in her maiden name? The whole thing is nuts I think.

 

[IvanP]

Yes most definitely. That must be really difficult though if her SIN is in her married name, how could they file taxes in her maiden name? The whole thing is nuts I think.

The Quebec tax form asks for last name. But the receipts for the service de garde (after school care for the kids) that we use for tax deductions list her maiden name. The SIN is what really matters for taxes, so it doesn't matter what her last name is on the forms. But it's fairly comical to watch her last name change depending on who is asking.

To make all this more ridiculous, she's from Ukraine originally but took Russian citizenship after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, so her birth certificate is in Ukrainian and spells her name Svitlana (with her patronymic and last name also written in Ukrainian), her Russian passport lists her name as Svetlana with her patronymic and maiden name in Russian and transliterated into English (we were never able to successfully jump through the hoops to change her last name on her Russian documents), her American passport has her maiden name as her middle name and our family name as her last name, and now she's come full circle and has Quebec documents with her maiden name.

So, what's my wife's name? Ummm... that's actually a really hard question.

 

[Icy Empress]

One way to bypass the confusion is to apply for a legal change change in the country or other province you are in. Once it is processed and your birth certificate is changed you then could keep your married name in Quebec.

I looked into applying for a legal name change to take my husbands and even that would not be approved here in Quebec.

 

[blueangel371115]

It's so dumb. I wish I had money so I could take them to court to get the law changed. It violates my civil rights and the Charter of Rights. Why it even went through is beyond me. I wish I could just not tell them. I might just tell them they can't since I'm under my husband's insurance as a different name or flat out refuse to respond to it. I feel like I'm being a petulant child but I've even tried to get my husband to move because of that. Plus it doesn't help that I don't speak very good French so people are rude to me. It's like 'we don't want your kind here, go somewhere else'. That's not a place where I want to raise my child. One guy in an article around where my husband lives compared Quebec to North Korea and Nazi Germany ( I wouldn't quite go that far) but I don't really feel accepted, I feel like I have to forget completely who I am and conform to who they want me to be and I don't like that. Maybe I'm being out of line or weird but I feel that way right now, I only hope it changes, since my husband doesn't want to move. Sorry, trying not to make generalizations as not all Quebeccers are bad people but a few in customer service and other places have made me feel uncomfortable. So no offense to you folks here but that's the one thing I can't seem to adjust to.

 

[keesio]

blueangel - there is a user on this forum who moved to rural Quebec from the midwest US. She has been living there for a few years now and was able to make the adjustment. Her user name is QuebecOkie. She's very helpful so I think she would be a good source of information and advice on the transition.

 

[MysticMidnight]

Logged in tonight to the E-cas and got DM on my application! Checked on Thursday and it still said Application Recieved. So it got changed over either Friday or earlier today.

I'm so excited. I (think) I'm the first July applicant to get a DM from Ottawa.

(Also I will add myself to the spreadsheet)

 

[xg0812]

Yay!!!
DM finally!!!

My partner got PPR email today and I checked ECAS and it's DM!!!!

Finally the long wait is ALMOST over!

Gonna send out PP tomorrow!

btw, also got my last set of GCMS which was compiled Nov 16, 2014...that GCMS showed no updates whatsoever from the previous one...Background and security checks were shown as not started...So I guess those are not so updated in GCMS either...

 

[MysticMidnight]

Yay!!!
DM finally!!!

My partner got PPR email today and I checked ECAS and it's DM!!!!

Finally the long wait is ALMOST over!

Gonna send out PP tomorrow!

btw, also got my last set of GCMS which was compiled Nov 16, 2014...that GCMS showed no updates whatsoever from the previous one...Background and security checks were shown as not started...So I guess those are not so updated in GCMS either...

Yay!! Another one! They seem to be on a roll so far this week.

Also do they want your actual passport or just photocopies of it? If you're from the US they shouldn't need you to send them the actual passport.

 

[xg0812]

Yay!! Another one! They seem to be on a roll so far this week.

Also do they want your actual passport or just photocopies of it? If you're from the US they shouldn't need you to send them the actual passport.

they want the actual pp since my partner is not US citizen and not from a visa exempt country..which is fine...they said in the email that the fastest way to get it back would be enclosing a Canada Post xpresspost shipping label...which is also fine by me...i dont care about the money since it already took 1k to get the PR done...

BUT!!!

Canada Post does not accept Visa Debit!!! oh man...I don't have a Canadian visa/mastercard/AMex...I guess I'll try at the post office to see if I can buy one there or borrow somebody else's credit card? y dont they accept Visa Debit!