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<h1 class="entry-title">Chinese bus-ted in Richmond: Now English language also required at city bus shelters, on benches</h1>
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<a class="gmail-author" href="http://vancouversun.com/author/provcherylchan"><img alt="" src="http://2.gravatar.com/avatar/5efd6eddaa23256c050cf005643981af?s=33&d=identicon&r=G" class="gmail-avatar gmail-avatar-33 gmail-grav-hashed" id="gmail-grav-5efd6eddaa23256c050cf005643981af-0" width="33" height="33"> <span class="gmail-name">Cheryl Chan</span><br> <span class="gmail-author-more">More from Cheryl Chan</span></a> </div>
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Published on: September 28, 2016 | Last Updated: September 28, 2016 9:23 PM PDT </div>
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<figure class="gmail-align-none gmail-wp-caption gmail-post-img" id="gmail-post-439626media-439626">
<img class="gmail-wp-post-image" alt="A Chinese-language sign at the Canada Line station at Richmond’s Aberdeen Mall. The City of Richmond’s new signage policy would not take effect at Canada Line stations, which come under the purview of TransLink and not the city. Some Chinese-only ads on buses and Canada Line stations have sparked outrage, but TransLink says it has no authority to deny advertising on buses and transit stops on the basis of language." src="http://wpmedia.vancouversun.com/2016/09/richmond-b-c-september-28-2016-signs-displayed-in-both.jpeg?quality=55&strip=all&w=840&h=630&crop=1" width="840" height="630">
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<p><span class="gmail-img-caption">A Chinese-language sign at the Canada
Line station at Richmond’s Aberdeen Mall. The City of Richmond’s new
signage policy would not take effect at Canada Line stations, which come
under the purview of TransLink and not the city. Some Chinese-only ads
on buses and Canada Line stations have sparked outrage, but TransLink
says it has no authority to deny advertising on buses and transit stops
on the basis of language.</span>
<span class="gmail-img-author"><span>Mark van Manen</span> / <span>PNG</span></span> </p>
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<p>English is now a must on bus stop ads in Richmond. </p>
<p>Richmond city council recently signed a contract with Pattison
Outdoor Ltd. stipulating that any advertising with a foreign language at
bus shelters and benches must have at least 50 per cent English.</p>
<p>“It seems to be reasonable to expect that as we want people to have
signage on their businesses in English, we want to have it, too, in our
bus shelters,” said Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie. </p>
<p>The new 20-year contract, which went into effect this month, is the
latest development in an ongoing issue over signage in a city where half
of its residents identify as ethnically Chinese. </p>
<p>The new requirement comes more than a year after city council ditched
a proposed bylaw mandating English-language signs for stores and
businesses in favour of education and outreach, partly because of
concerns over a Charter of Rights challenge. </p>
<p>Regulating language at bus stops appears to face fewer hurdles. </p>
<p>“In
this case, because the bus shelters are on city property and exist in a
contract arrangement, we had a higher level of control,” said city
spokesman Ted Townsend. </p>
<p>The city had been vocal in expressing its preference for at least 50
per cent English on bus stop ads in the past, he said, but when the
contract expired last year council asked staff to formalize
the requirement in its request-for-proposal. </p>
<p>Chinese-only signs on bus stop shelters weren’t a widespread problem,
with only three or four cases in the last two years, Townsend said. In
January, a Budweiser ad predominantly in Chinese outside Richmond City
Hall was pulled down after councillor Chak Au raised concerns.</p>
<p>Some Chinese-only ads on buses and Canada Line stations have sparked
outrage, but TransLink says it has no authority to deny advertising on
buses and transit stops on the basis of language. </p>
<p>“We don’t have any sign legislation requiring the province or
municipalities to enforce signage in any one of our two official
language in Canada,” TransLink spokesman Chris Bryan said in an e-mail.
“If people want to advertise, as long as it meets our own advertising
guidelines we accept it.” </p>
<p>This fall the City of Richmond is expected to consider a new
decluttering bylaw, targeting visual clutter such as posters, banners,
ads on windows or building facades, regardless of language. </p>
<p>Richmond resident Kerry Starchuk, who wants all commercial and
business signs in the city to include English or French, said the new
stipulation is a step in the right direction, but limited in its reach.
“We’ve come a long way from saying it’s not a problem … but there’s a
lot of things this doesn’t address,” she said.</p>
<p>Chinese-only signs on buses, mailed-in pamphlets and brochures, as
well as real-estate development signs remain unregulated, said Starchuk,
who is calling for a “language policy” from the federal, provincial and
municipal governments “that addresses the issues between the official
languages and all mother tongues that are spoken in Canada.” </p><p><a href="http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/chinese-bus-ted-in-richmond-now-english-language-also-required-at-city-bus-shelters-on-benches">http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/chinese-bus-ted-in-richmond-now-english-language-also-required-at-city-bus-shelters-on-benches</a><br></p><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature">**************************************<br>N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to its members<br>and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner or sponsor of the list as to the veracity of a message's contents. Members who disagree with a message are encouraged to post a rebuttal, and to write directly to the original sender of any offensive message. A copy of this may be forwarded to this list as well. (H. Schiffman, Moderator)<br><br>For more information about the lgpolicy-list, go to <a href="https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/" target="_blank">https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/</a><br>listinfo/lgpolicy-list<br>*******************************************</div>
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