Dear Editor,
Canada is a very inclusive, welcoming, compassionate and generous country.
Unfortunately, quite often, this nation’s generosity is misused and even abused.
Take the case of birth tourism which has been in the media headlines lately.
As the Richmond News and many other media outlets have reported, birth tourism at Richmond Hospital has increased many times over the last few years.
In one case, a local Richmond mother had to go all the way to Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver to give birth to her baby.
There may be a lot more mothers like her who couldn’t deliver their babies in their own local community hospital. This is not acceptable.
It has been reported that pregnant women from some other countries come to Canada to give birth to their babies and then return to their country/countries as fast as they can.
The baby born here becomes a Canadian citizen who is entitled to all of the benefits of being a Canadian citizen.
Certainly, we should welcome law abiding people from abroad who want to make Canada their permanent home and contribute.
Birth tourism doesn’t seem to fit that category.
It is about time for the federal government to take appropriate measures to stop such an abuse of our hospitality and generosity.
Balwant Sanghera
Richmond
