English signage proposal for Chinese-dominant area of Canada

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Dec. 9, 2004
VANCOUVER – Richmond city council is being asked to consider a bylaw requiring shops and other businesses to display signs in English as well as Chinese.

The recommendation comes from a committee established by council to examine what it calls “intercultural issues.” According to the 2001 census, 59 per cent of Richmond residents say they are members of a visible minority and 40 per cent claim Chinese heritage. Committee chair Shashi Assanand says the intent of the law is to help everyone in the community feel more included by offering signs that everyone can read.

“So as a result, if there are people who can’t read Chinese, we definitely would need to have English,” she says. “We don’t want to have parallel cultures building. We want to have intercultural communication, intercultural relationships, so that we can work as equals, with a lot of harmony here in Richmond.”

Danny Leung agrees. He’s the senior manager at the new Chinese-themed Aberdeen mall, where the signs are in both Chinese and English.

Leung says he’d support an English language sign bylaw. And he suggests restricting the size of Chinese characters to address a problem he sees along No. 3 Road. “I think the signage is a little bit of overkill, in terms of the Chinese characters. I think it should be neutralized a little bit, and make it more tourist friendly.”

There’s no word on whether Richmond council is prepared to pass a language bylaw. A spokesperson for the city’s planning department says it would likely be a last resort, and passed only after much discussion.

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  1. A follow-up:

    But Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie described bilingual signs as a non-issue in the city.

    He said that before his election in 1996, council discussed the issue and decided not to pass a bylaw. The issue arises so rarely that it can be resolved with a simple conversation with the business, he said.

    “We persuade them it’s not in their interest to have a sign without English on it. That has always worked very effectively. Communication and persuasion works.”

    While bilingual signs may be part of the long-term vision of the advisory committee, there are no plans — and in his opinion, no need — to bring the issue back to full council again any time soon for a vote.

    “I don’t find myself feeling we need any kind of bylaw or regulation or change on this subject,” he said. “It is certainly not something I’ll be encouraging. I don’t expect it at all, or at least for a long time.”

    A tour of Richmond businesses reveals little need for an English-language bylaw as recommended by the intercultural committee.

    Hundreds upon hundreds of Richmond signs were observed by a reporter Thursday. Signs in the Aberdeen Mall, in Parker Place II, in the Yaohan Centre and up and down No. 3 Road.

    Only two Chinese-only signs were found.

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