Bill 28: The <cite>Handmaid’s Tale</cite> Act

The term “father” in the VSA cannot be read as a plural and gender-neutral term in order to include lesbian co-mothers. Despite the broad purpose of the VSA, there can only be two parents according to the textual analysis: one mother and one father. This is because the terms “mother” and “father” are preceded throughout the VSA by “the.” Even if the article “the” were interpreted to mean a group of mothers or fathers, it is implausible to interpret “father” as including women. To alter the meaning of “father” to include non-biological lesbian co-mothers is stretching the plausible use of the expression.

Although §28(j) of the Interpretation Act... says that a singular can be plural and a male term can include females and vice versa, in this case it is a linguistic implausibility to interpret “father” as including “mother.”

In 2016, the Ontario legislature introduced Bill 28. Its official subtitle is All Families Are Equal Act (Parentage and Related Registrations Statute Law Amendment), 2016. I call it Bill 28: The Handmaid’s Tale Act, because it attempts to rewrite actual biological facts about human reproduction.

The context here is a court case the Ontario government lost almost