As two women in Richmond, B.C. ask city council to restrict how much Chinese can be displayed (http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/03/15/chinese-signs-richmond-limit-policy-english-language_n_2886882.html?utm_hp_ref=canada-british-columbia) on business signs in the Vancouver suburb, some officials say it's not even an issue.
Richmond Coun. Derek Dang told CBC News that a recent count only found three Chinese business signs (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2013/03/18/bc-chinese-signs-richmond.html) that had no English.
He said he's afraid the petition organized by Kerry Starchuk and Ann Merdinyan (http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/03/15/chinese-signs-richmond-limit-policy-english-language_n_2886882.html?utm_hp_ref=canada-british-columbia) may be "veiled racism," and that not many people support the proposal, reported CBC.
The women believe that business signs in Richmond should feature at least two-thirds English or French, with the remaining one-third allowed for another language. They gave a presentation to Richmond city council on late Monday afternoon.
Starchuk told The Richmond News that too many signs have become Chinese-only (http://www.richmond-news.com/news/Chinese+signs+Richmond+hand+inclusive+delegation+appealing+city/8100835/story.html), or have too little English on them.
Barry Grabowski, chair of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce (http://www.news1130.com/2013/03/18/richmond-c-of-commerce-not-worried-about-chinese-only-signs/), says businesses should be allowed to make their own decisions about marketing and signage as part of "free enterprise," reported News 1130. He says council should stay out of the issue.
Earlier this month, Joe Greenholtz (http://www.richmond-news.com/news/such+fuss+over+signs/6239601/story.html), an immigration consultant and member of the Richmond Intercultural Advisory Committee, reported that
12 out of 869 businesses (or 1.4 per cent) in Richmond's business core had Chinese-only signs.
Of the 200,000 people who live in the Vancouver suburb, 45 per cent are Chinese, the highest rate in Canada.
Signs dominated by languages other than English or French are allowed in B.C. In contrast, signs and posters in Quebec must be in French but another language is allowed as long as the official language is predominant.
Via: HuffingtonPost