Prohibition of the use of “sir” and “madam”: Quebec is “not there yet”

News 21 March, 2018

Photo Simon Clark
The minister of Justice, Stéphanie Vallée

Pascal Dugas Drone

Wednesday, march 21, 2018 17:29

UPDATE
Wednesday, march 21, 2018 17:32

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QUÉBEC | The government Couillard does not have the intention to ask its officials in contact with the citizens to avoid the use of the terms “non-neutral” as “sir” and “madam”, but admits in this regard to be “analysis” of forms used by the State of quebec.

READ ALSO : AT Service Canada, we request to avoid the words “mr.”, “mrs.”, “father” or “mother”

“It is not here at the moment,” said the minister of Justice, Stéphanie Vallée, referring to the federal directive requiring public servants of Service Canada avoid using the words “mr.”, “mrs.”, “father” and “mother” with the canadian citizens.

“It is a choice of Services Canada and it is necessary to respect this choice-there”, said the minister Valley.

In addition, she stated that her ministry is currently analyzing the various forms of the government of Quebec, because their current form can “sometimes lead to problems for homosexual families, or one of whose parents is going to undergo a transformation,” she explained.

She said to consider these changes as the “community requests”.

“The company needs to be proactive and better adapt to the new reality of quebec families,” she added.

Ask the question

According to the mp for Québec solidaire Manon Massé, issue such directive to public servants is not the solution and is even “disturbing”. She would rather see an openness on the part of officials in their exchanges with the public.

“Me, I do not consider myself a mother, even if I have brought up children, but the term parent, which suits me very well,” she gave as an example, stating in the same breath that some people, with reason, are “wedded” to be called “sir” or “madam”.

“This is not astrophysics. It is fair to ask the question of how people prefer to be called, summarized his colleague Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois.