I think this is true ONLY in formal writing, which this document clearly intends to be despite it’s complete inanity. Asterisks are used in computer code for multiplication and shorthand messages/emails all the time. Not many scientists/engineers/mathematicians out there that can’t write at least an excel formula
Older maritimers remember the reform party and the apparent disdain they had for us. Unfortunately when the pcs and reform merged, we got mostly reform out of the deal