May 31, 2006

Dear Canadian Government,

I am Alex ----, and I am 12 years old. I am writing this with Mrs. Gray. I have been concerned about the Canada Goose. With all due respect, I have felt for a few years that the name “Canada Goose” is not correct. (It doesn’t make sense.) Sometimes, it hasn’t bothered me, but I still think it should be called “Canadian Goose.” Please let me know if it is possible to make this change, and how I would do that.

Please write back. You may contact me via mail at the above address. Please also send a copy to Mrs. Gray (her address is below).

Respectfully,

My name is --------------, and I am the person in charge of the Canadian Forest Service. I am writing to answer your letter of May 31, 2006, about the “Canada Goose” and whether its name could and should be changed to “Canadian Goose”.

First of all let me explain why I think “Canada Goose” is the better name. My understanding is that when this goose was first watched by Europeans who were settling the new colonies (before they became the United States), it was noticed that the goose was not from the local area but was always seen to be flying down from the north before winter. Thus it became the goose from Canada, or the “Canada Goose”.

In the same way, the duck that used to fly down from Labrador to the northeastern United States (there are now none left) was not called the “Labradorian Duck” but the “Labrador Duck”. The same goes for the “California Condor”, the “Arizona Woodpecker”, the “Louisiana Waterthrush”, the “Kentucky Warbler” and the “Florida Scrub-Jay”.

I must admit, however, that there is also an “American Crow”, a “Cuban Parakeet”, and my all-time favourite: the “Jamaican Lizard-Cuckoo”. The lesson here is that there is always an exception to a rule, especially when we’re dealing with language.

Now to your question about how a person could change the name if they still felt it should be “Canadian Goose”.

I am afraid I do not know how this could be done. Most people call it the Canada Goose for the reason I’ve mentioned above. Even if all of these people changed their minds, we don’t have an office or a government agency in Canada responsible for changing the names of waterfowl. I suppose a member of Canada’s Parliament could propose a law to change the name, but I don’t think that he or she would get enough votes to do so, because most people seem to think the name should remain as it is.

I hope I haven’t disappointed you with my answer. It appears there is general agreement that “Canada Goose” is the preferred name. However, if you continue to believe strongly that the name should be “Canadian Goose,” then I say, go right ahead and call it that. In your country and mine we have freedom of speech, which means you can call that goose whatever you want.

I very much enjoyed receiving your letter. Please say hello for me to Mrs. Gray.

Yours sincerely,