Hospital shaving elderly Sikh patient without consent ‘cannot happen again’: WSO

As the investigation unfolds, the Sikh community expressed hope that the patient and his family will receive an explanation and that accountability will follow.

An Ontario hospital network is investigating an incident from last month in which an older Sikh patient’s beard was shaved off without his consent, a move that has been condemned by the Sikh community as a severe breach of religious rights.

As the investigation unfolds, Balpreet Singh, legal counsel and spokesperson for the World Sikh Organization of Canada (WSO), expressed hope that the patient and his family will receive an explanation and that accountability will follow.

He also emphasized the need for the hospital to reassure the Sikh community that their faith practices will be respected and understood.

“This is unspeakable. I can’t exaggerate the trauma this has really caused, not just for this family, but for the community. It’s a loss of trust,” Singh told Global News. “There need to be steps in the future to ensure this cannot happen again. And that means working with the Sikh community on ongoing training and awareness.”

In late August, Joginder Singh Kaler, a practising Sikh from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), was transferred to Brampton Civic Hospital from Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital. About a month earlier, he had a major fall and was taken to the Toronto hospital to receive treatment and underwent reconstructive surgery on his fractured jaw. His beard was not shaved for that procedure.

While Kaler was unconscious at Brampton Civic Hospital and unable to provide consent, the hospital contacted his family to request permission to shave him, according to advocates for the family.

The family refused, wishing to preserve his beard, but it was shaved nonetheless.

“He’s never shaved his beard because uncut hair is a part of the Sikh faith, it’s one of the articles of faith,” Singh said. “But to see him in that state was a shock for the family. And it’s a humiliating violation of someone’s faith.”