What is your Mothers Maiden Name? Apparently a Dumb Question in Quebec
August 9, 2007 · By Greg Farries
Women who get married in Quebec HAVE to keep their maiden name,
But in Quebec, since a 1981 reform of the civil law, women are not permitted to adopt their husband’s name at marriage, not even if they apply for an official name change.
[...]
The civil law reform took place shortly after the creation of the Quebec Charter of Rights in which equality between men and women was clearly stated, said Alain Roy, a family law professor at the University of Montreal.
“It was a logical follow-up to translate that equality into name attribution. And it was a highly symbolic gain for the feminist movement,” he explained in an interview.
In Quebec, symbolism trumps liberty… [Hat Tip: ProudtobeCanadian]
Update:
Nearly every person I’ve spoken to about this law has difficulty understanding the reasoning behind restricting womens liberty so that a few feminists can claim a symbolic victory. BlastFurnace, a member of the Liblogs, disagrees and thinks this law should be taken nationally.
The woman here — Caroline Parent — is asking nothing more than for women to be given the choice as is the case in the common law provinces.
I’m not sure that’s a good idea. We’re entitled to a name and unless we have a good reason we’re entitled to keep that name. Changing one’s name presumes you’re selling out to your spouse and turning over your rights, even though the law for at least the last two decades or so has made it clear that spouses are fully equal in a marriage — period. There may be historical reasons for the rule but I just don’t see it being valid anymore. I think the law in Québec should be taken nation-wide. It recognizes that as long as both partners are law-abiding, neither is a threat to the other’s rights and privileges.
There may be a case based on freedom of expression — but I would argue that that can be limited by what’s justified in a free and democratic society which is that mothers and fathers are equal and neither has authority over the other.
Another big crock of shite brought to you by the same statists who made sure Québec never had a self-sustaining (as opposed to taxpayer fed) economy.
My wife and I were married in Ontario. She legally took my name. We moved to Québec (for work reasons) four years later. The morons in Québec refused to recognize her legal name and forced her to use her maiden name for everything.
I sure am glad we’ve moved back to Canada years ago. The sooner Québec gets the hell out of Canada, the faster this country can get its stuff together again.
BTW.. before any rabid franco-supremacist flames me, I’m French-Canadian, and I can’t stand Québec and all its crap.
It’s a lame attempt at showcasing that Quebec has divested itself of its paternalistic ideology.
What a moron that blogger is. Another great thing for the state to intevene in – banning people from changing their names.
So what will they do in this “nationwide” program – ban all name changes within 60-90-180 days of signing a marriage certificate, to prevent them from legally changing their name? Will the ban only be on changing their name to their husband’s last name, or will they also be forbidden from ANY name change – say if they decide their name should be “Bobo the Clown”?
This is immensely stupid. Sure glad I don’t live in Quebec.