'They consider my son’s name a criminal activity': Windsorite denied personalized licence plate

Safwan Ammar wanted to memorialize his deceased son in a permanent way.

“I have a mixture of feelings. Anger, fear, depression, sadness,” Ammar told CTV News Wednesday. “They consider my son's name a criminal activity. That's unfair. That was an insult.”

On Jan. 31, Ammar applied and paid for a personalized licence plate with the word “Houssam” through Service Ontario’s website.

It’s in memory of his son who died at the age of 15 from leukemia in their home country of Lebanon.

“Houssam in the Arabic culture is one of the names of the sword which is a very strong name,” Ammar said.

According to Wikipedia, Houssam is a derivative of Hossam and “means the sharp sword or a cutting blade.” In some traditions it translates to "sword of justice" or "sword that divides justice and injustice.”

In a letter dated Feb. 8, Service Ontario told Ammar the word did not meet criteria under the heading “violence/criminal activity.”

In a written statement to CTV News, a spokesperson with the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery said “the ministry does not comment on the details of individual personalized licence plate applications.”

Ammar, they write, is welcome to appeal the decision and request a second review.

“A reconsideration request also provides an opportunity for the individual to submit further information to provide understanding and context to the meaning behind the personalized licence plate order,” the statement reads.

Ammar told CTV News he has already sent an email asking for reconsideration and is more than willing to share his reasons for wanting the plate.

“He was a real person. He had a real name. He wasn't a criminal,” Ammar said Wednesday. “That (initial rejection) was a discrimination against me, my language, my culture, my ethnicity and first of all, against my son.”

Ammar said his son always wanted to come to Canada and had hoped to study at McGill University in Montreal.

Ammar told CTV News he just wanted to always have a memorial to his son everywhere he goes.

“Because I believe he can see me. (I wanted) to show him how I am proud of him. I wanted to take him everywhere here in Canada,” Ammar said. “But they didn't allow me.”