No more ‘mothers’ and ‘fathers’? Ontario looks at gender neutral changes to government forms

Nationalpost.com
Sept. 24, 2015
By Ashley Csanady

Ontario has become the first province to consider moving all government documents toward gender neutral language to refer to parents.

A motion from a Liberal backbencher to replace references to “mothers” and “fathers” on all government forms to “parents” and “guardians” received all-party support Thursday afternoon. The initiative is non-binding, but Cabinet ministers spoke in its favour and MPPs said it’s about creating a more “inclusive” environment in a world where there are many kinds of families.

Some government and medical forms already opt for the gender neutral “parent or guardian,” but not universally. Sudbury MPP Glenn Thibeault, who brought forward the motion, said a constituent pointed out the issue on a school form in her area. The single mother was perplexed where there were spaces for both a mother and a father as opposed to something that better reflects the shape of modern families.

“For my constituent, it was a reminder that she was a single parent, and that being a single parent makes her feel different,” Thibeault said. “It’s a reminder to single parents, to divorced parents, or queer or transgender parents that they and the way they raise their child is not what is considered to be ‘normal.’”

He said adoption records are another example of government document that relies on binary gender norms.

“This isn’t about banning the words “mother” and “father” that was mentioned by some members of the press gallery earlier this afternoon,” Thibeault said. “This is about making Ontario more inclusive.”

The motion is timely given the recent upsurge in awareness of transgender issues, thanks at least in part to pop culture. Orange is the New Black and Transparent have brought the issue to the fore on small screens, and Caitlyn Jenner’s coming out earlier this year drew international attention.

New Democrat MPP Jennifer French, a former teacher, lauded the motion saying families come in all shapes and sizes.

“It isn’t the gender of care, it is the nature of it,” she said.

Her caucus-mate Cheri DiNovo, who has been a leader on trans-rights issues in the Ontario legislature, said she plans to bring forward a private member’s bill to take the same notion ever further. She said the non-binding motion is just a start, but it’s time for “parental equality.” DiNovo said it would be best if all the changes were enshrined in law as opposed to a non-binding motion.

The motion is drafted so that the government can make the changes going forward and use up existing forms, Thibeault said, so it wouldn’t cost anything to implement.

All parties supported the motion on a voice vote, but Progressive Conservative Bob Bailey suggested it might be better to both maintain traditional words while also adding more inclusive language.

“While calling for more inclusive language, the member is calling for the words ‘mother’ and ‘father’ to be excluded from government forms,” Bailey said. “If the member was really serious about being inclusive, he would be asking that words such as ‘parent’ and ‘guardian’ be added - I might add a stress on ‘added’ - to government forms, not that the words ‘mother’ and ‘father’ be excluded from them.

“I know everyone here would agree that the words ‘mother’ and ‘father’ mean many things to many people and shouldn’t be excluded from government forms or our day-to-day vocabulary,” Bailey said.