So I got confronted and told off in a parking lot today by an off duty officer about my ERF. ERF is practically non existant in this province and he had no idea what it was. I tried to explain to him but we had a language barrier so I just said okay and moved on (I was trying to grocery shop)

So now I phoned my OH and we are going to write a complaint letter. I don't care if people don't ERF but I think these guys obviously need some upgraded education.

So I wrote it (here is my translated version). I'm pretty annoyed, considering I was really hoping for a job at this place but this is enough for me to consider pissing them off about, oh well.


Dear Sir/Madam,
I can't write French well, sorry. Today, I was stopped by an off-duty officer and told that my extended rear facing car seat was improper and that it should be front facing (my son is 21 months and 35lbs). I have a Graco MyRide 65, which is an extended rear facing car seat for children up to 40lbs (whether they are 1 or 4 years old). These seats are legal in Canada and have been shown to be 500% safer than a front facing car seat. I understand that these seats are rarely, if ever, seen here in Quebec but please educate your officers on updated rules of car seat safety here in Canada. I know that the officer who approached me was just trying to help but my son's car seat is in fact safer than a standard front facing seat and just wish to inform of newer regulations/safety technology.


I have included some information below.

Transport Canada:
http://www.tc.gc.ca/fra/securiterout...title-1084.htm
Quand devriez-vous faire passer votre enfant d’un siège orienté vers l’arrière à un siège orienté vers l’avant?
Ne soyez pas pressé. Gardez votre enfant dans le siège orienté vers l’arrière jusqu’à ce qu’il soit trop grand pour celui-ci. Le guide de l’utilisateur de votre siège d’auto pour enfants vous indiquera les limites de taille et de poids d’un enfant pour ce siège. Si votre enfant est trop grand pour son siège orienté vers l’arrière, il se peut qu’il existe un autre modèle qui lui conviendra. Certains sièges d’auto orientés vers l’arrière sont conçus pour des enfants pesant jusqu’à 20 kg (45 lb)!

(BTW this just says that car seats up to 45lbs exist (!) and that they are safe for rear facing older children)

The translation

When should you move your child from a rear-facing seat to a forward-facing seat?

Child in child car seatDon’t hurry. Keep your child in the rear-facing seat until he or she grows out of it. Your child seat user guide will tell you the maximum weight and height of a child for that seat. If your child grows out of the rear-facing seat, there may be another model that will still fit your child. Some rear-facing car seats are made for children up to 20 kg (45 lbs)!

It is okay if your child’s legs touch the back of your vehicle seat, as long as your child is still below the manufacturer’s weight and height limits.

Even if your child weighs 10 kg (22 lbs), is able to walk on his or her own and your provincial/territorial law says you can use a forward-facing seat, the rear-facing position is still safer. As long as your child is still below the weight and height limits of your current child seat, you should use that seat for as long as possible.

Very nicely written! I would be angry too.

I was tempted to debate with him on the spot but I knew he was clueless and wasn't going to concede defeat. When I worked in policing (did not even bother to mention that to him, or that my OH is an officer too) I remember very few guys knew a clue about ERF

I hope someone understand smy English version because my French version is not very eloquent lol

Oh, I'd be angry if someone called me out for using ERF. Good job with the letter. I hope it educates and opens their eyes about how much safer it is.

Good work Aliss - I hope it does some good x

Hope it does some good. Good on you for trying to educate them!

Well done for doing somthing about it

Love it well done you! XXx