If there's a Mr. George Orwell in the building, author of the iconic twentieth century novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, would he please report to the front desk immediately. We have an urgent case of Newspeak and thought control in the building.You see Mr. Orwell, the Conservative government in Canada has issued a memo ordering public servants to refer to it as the "New Government of Canada." Public servants have been told to cease calling it the "Canadian government" or any other unauthorized term.
So committed is the New Government of Canada to this Newspeak, that it has made the old term, Canadian government, a thoughtcrime.
And government scientist Andrew Okulitch learned the consequences of committing thoughcrime when he fired off an email challenging the edict.
Well, Mr. Orwell, the New Government of Canada was not amused. No, Mr. Orwell. So unamused was The New Government of Canada that it fired Dr. Okulitch for daring to challenge the Newspeak.
Of course, Dr. Okulitch quickly regained his job when he went public and revealed the lunacy of thoughtcrime and Newspeak in the New Government of Canada. Thankfully, we still have a free press in Canada.
But how much longer can we typists count on that when the Canadian government - Oops! Sorry, the New Government of Canada - is firing public servants for committing thoughtcrimes such as this?
So Mr. Orwell, we'd be grateful if you could report to the front desk immediately. This case is urgent and requires your attention.
