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The Canadian government has officially turned down Erin Brooks’ application for Canadian citizenship. Though this seems to be the end of her Canadian Olympic bid, her father has vowed to continue to fight to secure her citizenship and a spot on the team, as CBC reports.
Though she was born in Texas and Grew up in Hawaii, Brooks’ father is an American-born Canadian citizen. As a result, Brooks had been competing under the Canadian flag at international events for years, including when she won a silver medal at the ISA World Surfing Games in El Salvador.
In June, CBC revealed that Brooks was not officially a Canadian citizen, but rather her ability to compete as a Canadian was the result of exemptions granted to her based on a pending citizenship application. Shortly after the story was published, the ISA reevaluated Brooks’ citizenship status and decided to immediately suspend her eligibility to compete as a Canadian.
Now, the Canadian government has officially weighed in on the matter. In a letter explaining its decision, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada told Brooks, “The application is refused on the basis that the applicant is not stateless, has not experienced special or unusual hardship or provided services of an exceptional value to Canada which warrants a discretionary grant of Canadian citizenship.”
As Surf Canada told the CBC, Erin’s father, Jeff Brooks, intends to appeal the decision to federal court. For Erin to be able to qualify, she would have to become a citizen in time to compete in the ISA World Championships in Puerto Rico in February.
