New Brunswick to adopt gender-neutral names for two provincial offices

FREDERICTON – New Brunswick’s government has introduced legislation to give two provincial offices gender-neutral names.

The Office of the Rentalsman will be renamed the Residential Tenancies Tribunal, and the Office of the Ombudsman will become Ombud New Brunswick.

Finance Minister Cathy Rogers says it’s a symbolic change but an important one, as it lets women in the province know that all opportunities and offices are equally open to them.

The government says studies have indicated that using job titles that are not gender-specific promotes greater participation of female candidates and reduces gender stereotyping and discrimination.