Richmond councillors, residents debate language restrictions on commercial signs

Richmond city council debated Monday the merits of a bylaw that would require all new commercial signs to include an official Canadian language comprising 50 percent of the sign but did not take the decision to a vote.

In a crowded council room, Richmond residents on both sides of the debate expressed their concerns in strongly worded, sometimes emotional statements.

Some said they felt frustrated and annoyedby the number of Chinese signsalong Richmond's No. 3 road, while others said the proposed bylaw made them feel unwelcomeand even unsafein their own community.

In a written statement presented to council, former Vancouver councillorTung Chan said he was "upset" by Chinese-only signs, buturged council not to adopt the bylaw.

"People who do that showtheir ignorance about what is the make up of Richmond and a lack of respect to our country's language and heritage," he said.

"But to change the behaviour of ignorant people is by education, not by enacting bylaws."

A familiar issue

The issue wasre-ignitedlast week after Counc. BillMcNultyadded a surpriseamendmentto aproposed sign bylaw on storefronts.

If passed, the proposed bylaw would apply to any new commercial signintroduced in the city of Richmond, butnot toother items like pamphlets or newspaper ads.

A bylaw regulating language on commercial signs was previously considered in 2013 and 2015.

Richmond mayor Malcolm Brodie voted against McNulty's proposed amendment last week.He said that when the issue was previously discussed, city staff found only13 out of over 1,500 commercial signs in Richmond failed to include an English or French translation.

He said that after an educationcampaign, all business owners applying for new signs decided to includeEnglish translations.

"Since we went out and took the consultative approach, with over 900 applications, 100 per cent of them now have some English signage. So you have to ask what are we trying to accomplish here?" he said.

Richmond legal council also expressed concern that the bylaw could violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms by infringing on freedom of expression.

Richmond city staff requested more time to consider the bylaw, and sought clarification on a number of issues, including the definition of '50 per cent of a sign.'

They also raised the issue of whether foreign language brands would need to be translatedfor example, whether a non-English word like "Ikea" should also require an English or French translation.

The proposed bylawis now expected to go to a second round of public consultations in July.