[Salami-banker]

I went to HSBC Canada to open a Euro denominated account. The bank representative noted my named, and asked, smiling, what my background is.

I told her I'm from Vancouver. She said that's not what she meant, so I assumed she was asking whether my background was Iranian to make conversation (this was the branch in North Vancouver, which has a large Iranian-Canadian population, so I thought she was going to make a remark about Iranian-Canadian clients that she knows).

I told her my background is Iranian. She said that anyone of Iranian background would need to get special approval to open a Euro denominated account with HSBC Canada due to US sanctions.

I explained to her that I'm a Canadian citizen, that I moved to Canada when I was three years old, and that I don't have Iranian citizenship or any connections to Iran.

She said it doesn't matter, and that even if only my parents were born in Iran, or I had extended family living in Iran, I was considered to be a person with "connections to Iran", and thus needing special approval to get an account.

A week later the bank representative called me and told me that my request to open an account was rejected.

[bigmanwalter]

This is outrageous. As a fellow Canadian whose parents immigrated here, I am fed up with Canada's reputation as friendly and welcoming to foreigners. While it is to a degree, the racism here is much stronger than people seem to be willing to acknowledge.

[Salami-banker]

Thanks for your words of support. The experience has been surreal for me.

What saddens me most is that in a sense, I'm one of the lucky ones: I genuinely don't have any connections to Iran. I might be able to complain and have the policy reversed on people like me.

But what if I did have connections to Iran? What if I had immigrated at 22, and still had Iranian citizenship? Or what if I never got a chance to immigrate, and still lived in Iran? In that case, I would be totally rejected by a world that justifies official discrimination against me, in the name of enforcing sanctions that are deemed necessary to achieve geopolitical objectives.

The worst part of it all would be knowing that the world at large considers me expendable, and would accept policies that lead to my discrimination as a lesser of two evils.

There would be no way out if I were in that position, because the quality of mine that is discriminated against is one I was born with, and complaining wouldn't help, because most people would just say "tough luck". When the crowd thinks you deserve to suffer because of what you are, rather than what you've done, it's a crushing feeling. I have a taste of that now and it's terrifying.

Regarding racism and discrimination in Canada: I agree that there is much more of it here than people generally perceive. I do think Canada is less racist/discriminatory than most countries, but the difference is not as big as commonly believed.

[neptunespear]

This is actually not an uncommon occurrence: a Canadian citizen sued TD after his bank accounts were closed in 2012: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/montreal-man-b...

[neptunespear]

Hey man. In case you see this, you might consider contacting Go Public (CBC News) about this: [e-mail]

In addition, the Law Society of BC offers half-hourly consultations for $25, it's called the Lawyer Referral Service.