THE ADVOCATE 619
VOL. 79 PART 4 JULY 2021
GRUMBLES
By R.C. Tino Bella*
Dear Editor,
Re: Gerry Lecovin’s Legacy
I loved reading the excellent Nos
Disparus about Gerry ((2021) 79
Advocate 93), with whom I was
lucky enough to sit at the bencher
table for many years. However, I
was dismayed to see that the very
issue honouring Gerry’s memory
failed to have any Grumbles. In an
effort to rectify that failing, I think
it is appropriate to grumble about
the Toronto Real Estate Board’s
decision to drop the term “master”
bedroom and replace it with “primary”
bedroom. The board’s reason
for doing this is commendable.
However, the decision draws
attention to the word “master”,
which of course in its present use is
not gender-specific (fortunately, as
the feminine equivalent is now
found mostly in a few of the more
explicit Georgia Straight personals)
and often has positive connotations,
such as master mariner,
chess master, the Masters golf tournament,
master’s degree, etc. You
get the drift—referring to someone
who has achieved mastery over a
subject. Of course, the same is not
necessarily true of the term as
applied to a judicial position. I
know this from personal experience.
It is a confusing term. Some
of my former colleagues (those
with an English background)
thought the required court dress
meant knee-high socks, short
trousers and braces.
Masters are about the most easily
appealed folks in the judiciary,
although rarely are appeals successful,
probably because the
higher-ups get totally perplexed by
bidding during court-ordered sales.
The main reason the position was
* Grumbles may be e-mailed to <mbain@the-advocate.ca>. Grumbles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the
Advocate or its staff. We encourage a diversity of voices and views in our pages.
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