Gender-Inclusive Pronouns

  • June 30, 2021

In June 2021, the provincial courts of Ontario in collaboration with the Court Services Division of the Ministry of the Attorney General introduced a new direction to all court staff informing them of the importance of inviting court participants to share pronouns and prefixes in court proceedings.  To support these changes, the following resources have been prepared for members of the Ontario Bar.

Definitions and FAQs

Addresses common questions about sharing one’s pronouns, and provides a list of gender expression and identity definitions.


Counsel Introduction Scripts

Includes a pronunciation guide along with examples of introductions


Additional Resources

CBA National - No Need to Guess: Title and pronoun use in BC courts are changing with the times. It's only common sense, 2021

In Defence of B.C.'S Pronoun Practice Directives, 2021

Gender Inclusive Writing: Correspondence – Government of Canada, 2020

Gender Inclusive Language Resources – Government of Ontario, 2018

Modernizing the Government of Canada’s Sex and Gender Information Practices: Summary Report, 2018


COURT DIRECTIONS

Ontario’s Courts Notice to the Legal Profession and Public

We thank our colleagues at the British Columbia Bar Association and the Canadian Bar Association for sharing their resources and creativity with us.