Canadian CEO Chiefly Concerned With Political Correctness

            Catherine Roome, erstwhile CEO of Technical Safety BC, “an independent, self-funded Canadian organization that oversees the safe installation and operation of technical systems and equipment across the province [British Columbia],” has renounced her title. According to a pjmedia.com post, she lamented systemic racism and praised the Black Lives Matter movement before embarking on a truly spectacular display of virtue-signaling.

She…well, let her speak for herself, as quoted by The Globe and Mail: “As folks who know me well will tell you, I am a stickler for inclusive language. I often interrupt people – board directors, heads of organizations, politicians, and others – if I feel they are using titles for our employees that are outdated. So, to receive constructive feedback on my own use of language made me sit up and take notice. One particularly courageous colleague pointed out that I was using a word in my title, president and chief executive officer, that represents something deeply meaningful to many Indigenous peoples. It is a word that is honored and respected in First Nations culture and conveys a meaning very different to organizational leadership. I have long been a champion for Indigenous rights and reconciliation. Yet I am ashamed to say, the thought had never even occurred to me that the title I proudly held could evoke such a response, or even be viewed as disrespectful to the very reconciliation process that I support.”  She added, “So, upon reflection, I have changed my title within the organization to president and lead executive officer.”

The newly self-appointed LEO is fairly bursting at the seams with delight in her own wokeness, so I hate to point out that I am a stickler for language, too. The word “president” originated from the Latin “praesident,” based on the present participle of praesidEre, ergo a president is an official who presides over a body of people, dictionaries tell us. And “executive” is no better, being derived from the Latin “executivus” past participle stem of exequi, meaning to “follow after; carry out, accomplish.” Moreover, online sources inform us that “lead” is akin to the Old High German “leiten,” meaning to lead. For that matter, “officer” stems from Medieval Latin’s “officiarius” and “officium,” meaning “an officer” and “a duty or service,” respectively.

We can clearly see that Ms. Roome is a fraud. Instead of touting her title as “President and Lead Executive Officer,” every word of which has been appropriated and/or is patently offensive, she should instead consider using the phrase “Premier and Preeminent Controlling Director.” Though, come to think of it, I haven’t checked to see if those words could be harmful in some way, too.

Perhaps we could just call her, “Heap big mucky-muck.”

Perhaps not. 

“Hey, you?”