Post by Dean Robinson on Dec 4, 2007 14:47:54 GMT -5
Ministry puts brakes on Sarnia woman's Christmas gift to dad
By DAN MCCAFFERY, SUN MEDIA
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Suzanne Fitzgerald's plate request was rejected. (Glenn Ogilvie/Sun Media)
What's the most memorable licence plate you've seen?
SARNIA -- Political correctness has been taken to an absurd level by the people who decide what can and can't go on Ontario's personalized licence plates, a Sarnia woman says.
Suzanne Fitzgerald is upset because the ministry of transportation has refused to allow her to buy plates for her father that would have read "BUTCHY39."
She planned to purchase them as a Christmas present for her dad, Tom Cooper, whose nickname has been Butch almost since the day he was born in 1939.
"When my mother met him his name was Butch and his six kids all call him 'Butchy,'" she said. "My two brothers are restoring a 1972 Chevy truck for him and I thought I'd get some plates for Christmas," she said. "He's really hard to buy for."
But those hopes were dashed when she received a letter from the personalized licence plate review committee rejecting her application.
The committee reviews personalized plates and can reject them if they are deemed derogatory, profane, racist, sexual or religious in nature.
"The ministry's concern, in your particular case, is that the plate would be considered by some members of the public to have an inappropriate connotation," the letter said.
It did not elaborate.
COMMITTEE UNDER FIRE
When Fitzgerald called for an explanation, a government official told her the word "butch" is sometimes used to refer to a lesbian. The committee says it will refund the $237 she paid for the plates, but not for six to eight weeks.
As a result, she said, "I don't have any money to get my dad a Christmas gift."
Fitzgerald has brought the matter to the attention of Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey, who is looking into it.
The committee has been under fire for a number of recent decisions, including one in which it refused to issue plates with the wording "REV JO" to Rev. Joanne Sorrill, a United Church minister, because it could be perceived to denote speeding. In another case, a Peterborough man was told he couldn't have plates that read HVF8TH, or "have faith," because it has a religious connotation.
By DAN MCCAFFERY, SUN MEDIA
Add to Facebook
Suzanne Fitzgerald's plate request was rejected. (Glenn Ogilvie/Sun Media)
What's the most memorable licence plate you've seen?
SARNIA -- Political correctness has been taken to an absurd level by the people who decide what can and can't go on Ontario's personalized licence plates, a Sarnia woman says.
Suzanne Fitzgerald is upset because the ministry of transportation has refused to allow her to buy plates for her father that would have read "BUTCHY39."
She planned to purchase them as a Christmas present for her dad, Tom Cooper, whose nickname has been Butch almost since the day he was born in 1939.
"When my mother met him his name was Butch and his six kids all call him 'Butchy,'" she said. "My two brothers are restoring a 1972 Chevy truck for him and I thought I'd get some plates for Christmas," she said. "He's really hard to buy for."
But those hopes were dashed when she received a letter from the personalized licence plate review committee rejecting her application.
The committee reviews personalized plates and can reject them if they are deemed derogatory, profane, racist, sexual or religious in nature.
"The ministry's concern, in your particular case, is that the plate would be considered by some members of the public to have an inappropriate connotation," the letter said.
It did not elaborate.
COMMITTEE UNDER FIRE
When Fitzgerald called for an explanation, a government official told her the word "butch" is sometimes used to refer to a lesbian. The committee says it will refund the $237 she paid for the plates, but not for six to eight weeks.
As a result, she said, "I don't have any money to get my dad a Christmas gift."
Fitzgerald has brought the matter to the attention of Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey, who is looking into it.
The committee has been under fire for a number of recent decisions, including one in which it refused to issue plates with the wording "REV JO" to Rev. Joanne Sorrill, a United Church minister, because it could be perceived to denote speeding. In another case, a Peterborough man was told he couldn't have plates that read HVF8TH, or "have faith," because it has a religious connotation.