Update: Canada's Shared Services released a statement clarifying that a letter appearing to come from their agency banning the use of the phrase "Let's go Brandon" or its variants in official communications from federal employees was fake and not an official stance of Trudeau's government.
Original Post:
In recent weeks — and thanks to a broadcaster's feeble attempt to save face for President Biden — chants of "Let's go Brandon" have become a popular occurrence at sporting events, concerts, and in everyday commentary. It seems the fad even made it into the emails of federal employees in Canada.
America's neighbors to the north, though, apparently want to head off the euphemistic "eff you" to Joe Biden among its government workforce according to a letter circulating on Twitter that allegedly came from Shared Services Canada.
According to the agency's website, it "delivers digital services to Government of Canada organizations... [with] modern, secure and reliable IT services so federal organizations can deliver digital programs and services that meet Canadians needs."
The letter — dated October 14 — states that "this is a formal notification that all government correspondence must be professional in nature and approved by department heads" and "when applicable all correspondence must be vetted by the PMO for framing and message prior to public disclosure or internal distribution."
Based on the Canadian government's alleged dictate, it seems some federal employees were adding "Let's go Brandon" to their government email signatures:
"Signature block salutations must be approved messaging and provided in bilingual format as designated by the regional guidelines," the letter advises.
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"The use of colloquialism or sayings with intended double meaning or offense are strictly prohibited in all means of correspondence and/or communication," says the letter before getting more explicit in its prohibition (emphasis from the original):
"Specifically, the use of the wording "Let's Go Brandon" and any variation thereof under any circumstance is banned by the Canadian Public Service."
Canadian government workers must not say "Let's Go Brandon", or any variation thereof, in any communication.
— Peter McCaffrey (@peteremcc) October 17, 2021
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To trigger what appears to be an agency- or perhaps even government-wide notice of the Brandon ban, the double entendre must have popped up in more than a few email signatures, and the Canadian Public Service isn't messing around.
Calling the issue "zero tolerance," the letter warns that "Violation of the policy will be grounds for immediate dismissal without recourse or labour union representation."
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