A photo taken on Steveston Highway in Richmond is turning heads due to an advertisement on the side of a Translink bus.
While people are not upset about the advertisement’s content, they are questioning the language it is written in. Specifically, they are upset about the lack of English on the sign – there isn’t a single English word on it.
RELATED: Racist Flyers Distributed In Richmond Mailboxes
Kerry Starchuk took to Twitter on January 14th to express his anger over the sign.
This is absolutely disgraceful… BC needs a language law to put an end to this nonsense. I can’t do it alone. I need a team of professionals to help. This picture was taken on Steveston Highway in Richmond. pic.twitter.com/7pvgauP6yM
— Kerry Starchuk (@endbirthtourism) January 15, 2018
If you can’t read it, it’s not meant for you. If it bothers you that much, go learn the language. Hell it might open up a new world for ya.
— DeeAm (@puck2da_head) January 15, 2018
Chinese Only Signs in Richmond
“There is no legislation requiring the province or municipalities to enforce signage in any one of our two official languages in Canada,” Richmond News reports TransLink’s senior media relations advisor, Chris Bryan, said. “TransLink has no authority to deny advertising on that basis. If people want to advertise, as long it meets our own advertising guidelines we accept it.”
While BC may not have laws against this, the Richmond city councillors voted unanimously to have English on every sign in the city.
The new policy encourages businesses to have at least 50% of their signage in English, which councillors argue strikes a fair balance. So far, without having a policy in writing, businesses have been extremely receptive to the recommendation.