|
Baby Ivory: the sequel? Last month, Quebec's Registrar of Civil Status attempted to forbid a couple to name their child "Ivory" on the basis that the name referred to a consumer product--soap. With this in mind, former Mirror art director Hoover(!) Chung felt it necessary to write the Civil Status office himself. Forthwith, some excerpts of correspondence: "Dear Sir: I am writing to request your advisory opinion regarding name registration. I fully expect that I will soon father a child, and I fully intend to pass on my name to my child, be it a boy or a girl. This is an issue of tremendous personal importance, and I wish to avoid any future confrontation with your office by settling this issue posthaste. My parents named me Hoover upon my birth, and I admit that I was the object of some ridicule in my youth; at times I was thankful I was not given the monicker Electrolux. >> However, recent items in the news surrounding one "baby Ivory" have given me cause for concern. In order to avoid incurring any legal expenses in the future (raising a child is already enough of a financial burden), I would like to ask you immediately: if I were to name my child Hoover, would your office contest my choice? >> As my efforts to father a child may unexpectedly bear fruit at any time, I await your reply with great interest.
Sincerely,
"Sir: We have read the letter you recently sent by fax. You are requesting that we take a stand on a hypothetical event. We believe you should wait for a birth to occur and for the declaration of birth to be sent to us for registration. We will then proceed with the analysis of the registration file in light of the parameters in effect at that particular time, as the criteria may have evolved by then. We thank you for your interest regarding the application of the act respecting the birth registrations and with the application of the Civil Code of Quebec in this matter.
Respectfully yours,
|