The Editor,
The issue of no English on various signs in Richmond has sparked a debate and, as usual, Richmond government has embedded its collective head in the sand, doing nothing to ease the ongoing debate.
A column from immigrant consultant Joe Greenholtz makes a series of points, some of them relevant and some somewhat specious!
The one valid thing that he points out is the difficulty encountered by emergency services or police when attempting to find a location not identified with English signage.
Here, Richmond Council, is a suggestion.
Enact a bylaw, stating those businesses that do not have signage in either French or English, will be assessed an amount equal to four or five per cent per year of their property assessment, to compensate for the additional time and trouble encountered by the aforesaid emergency services when no adequate signage is evident.
Anyone want to bet that a rash of English (or French) signs would suddenly appear on the offending properties?
Terrence Murphy Richmond
