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Letter: Why we need to talk about the word “may”

Roberta, thanks for recently highlighting this huge legal loophole in the official language citizens will be voting on in Village Farms June ballot.

“City “may” elect to request Developer (Village Farms) to construct the units”

I asked Google AI for a description of the word “may”

Google AI Overview
“May” is a versatile modal verb used to express possibility/uncertainty (“It may rain”), grant or request permission (“May I leave?”), or express a polite wish (“May you be happy”). It signifies a ~50% chance of occurrence and acts as a more formal, slightly less certain alternative to “might” or “can”.
Merriam-Webster

It would appear that every lawyer can explain and defend the meaning of the word ‘may”. So clearly this housing may or may not be built. “May” has a very different meaning than “will” or “shall”.

So rather than me saying , “I “may” not vote for the VF project, with “may” remaining in the language the citizens will be voting on I will “not” be voting for VF. The city council should not have approved “may” in the wording.

David J Thompson

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Comments

One response to “Letter: Why we need to talk about the word “may””

  1. ->KeiTh

    Words like “may” and “could” are what I call wiggle words. You often see these words used in corporation press releases trying to entice investors to buy their stock. If/when a corporation’s proposals don’t materialize they can say they said “may” and “could” and aren’t legally responsible.

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