Jump to content
The Official Site of the Vancouver Canucks
Enter Search Term. Use arrows to navigate between autocomplete results. If no results appear, use Enter to do a full site search.
Forum Closure ×
Canucks Community
Forum Closure

Chinese Signs Questioned In West Vancouver By "Putting Canada First" Group

DonLever

By DonLever
in Off-Topic General

Recommended Posts

DonLever Canucks Third-Line

DonLever

Posted
Posted

A North Shore resident who is part of an organization that's complained about Chinese language advertising signs in other Lower Mainland communities is taking aim at similar signs on West Vancouver bus shelters.

Brad Saltzberg, a North Vancouver resident and spokesperson for the group Putting Canada First, is taking issue with bus shelter advertisements along Marine Drive that have prominently featured messages in the Chinese language.

The signs also feature English.

But Saltzberg said he's offended by the proliferation of signs in non-official languages, which he said undermines "traditional English and French Canadian identity."

Saltzberg recently wrote to West Vancouver council about the issue after noting several advertisements featuring Chinese displayed on West Vancouver bus shelters. Signs have included ads for real estate agents, financial planning and food products.

"If it goes on unchecked it will continue to the degree we're seeing in other business districts and other municipalities whereby No. 3 Road in Richmond, it looks like Hong Kong. It doesn't look like Canada."

If the trend continues, he said, "Our whole city will appear to be Asian."

Last week, someone placed square stickers on the signs reading "Please Respect Canada's Official Languages."

West Vancouver's bus shelters are owned by the Pattison Group, which sells advertising space on them, under an agreement with the municipality.

The company controls the content of the ads, which is guided by Canadian advertising standards, said Donna Powers, spokesperson for the District of West Vancouver.

"We have talked to them about vulgarity and sexual suggestiveness but not about language," she said, noting West Vancouver's sign bylaw doesn't cover language.

Nobody from Pattison returned calls from the North Shore News.

West Vancouver Mayor Michael Smith said he doesn't see any problem with the ads.

"I believe in personal freedom. If you pay your money you should be able to advertise your sign in any language you want. I'm not a racist. I

don't see why anybody would be offended by an advertisement in a different language," he said.

"There's some people who would like to turn the clock back 50 years when all the immigrants to Canada came from Europe. It's a different world."

Smith said as someone who believes in individual freedom, "I don't have

a lot of tolerance for the nannies and the higher purpose people who like to tell everybody else how they should think and what they should do."

Elizabeth Jones, executive director of the North Shore Multicultural Society, said she's not surprised that advertising signs have recently become a flashpoint in the Lower Mainland.

"I think signage is a big issue," she said. "It triggers a lot of feelings people have about change and immigration.

"A lot of racism and a lot of feelings about the change that's taking place in communities is unspoken. When you get signage, it is right there.

"We all grow up within a certain culture and community the way it is,"

said Jones. "Some people are better at adapting to change than others."

In April, Saltzberg's group successfully mounted a campaign to get the social service agency SUCCESS to pull its Chinese-only ads from Richmond bus shelters.

"I'm proud to say I've never believed in multiculturalism for even one minute of my life," said Saltzberg.

According to the last Census data, more than 26 per cent of the North Shore population lists a language other than English or French as their first language.

Farsi, Mandarin, Cantonese, other Chinese languages and Korean are the most common languages spoken after English.

Read more North Shore news here

© Copyright © The Province
Link to comment
Share on other sites
TOMapleLaughs Canucks All-Star

TOMapleLaughs

Posted
Posted

I dunno, it just seems that this person/group is a wee bit late to the party.

Canada needing immigration to curb population mushrooming will only mean further loosening of our language 'purity'.

French is a bigger problem here than Chinese anyway. Who in this province needs freakin' french? I say let's bid adieu to that requirement first. My cereal box labels are too damn cluttered!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
DonLever Canucks Third-Line

DonLever

Posted
  • Author
Posted

It is interesting that the story came from the North Shore News which have publish similar stories.

And the North Shore News was the home of Doug Collins for years. Doug Collins was the columnist in the 1980's who wrote stories in which he said non-white immigrants to Canada was ruining Canada. He hated the Chinese and East Indians and gave derogatory names to them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TOMapleLaughs Canucks All-Star

TOMapleLaughs

Posted
Posted

It is interesting that the story came from the North Shore News which have publish similar stories.

And the North Shore News was the home of Doug Collins for years. Doug Collins was the columnist in the 1980's who wrote stories in which he said non-white immigrants to Canada was ruining Canada. He hated the Chinese and East Indians and gave derogatory names to them.

So North Van is racist? I always thought it was Poco.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Where's Wellwood Canucks First-Line

Where's Wellwood

Posted
Posted

I would give him a pass because as a person of Chinese descent, who doesn't speak and barely understands Chinese, I like some English on my signs.

However, this quote from the article is just so blatantly racist.

"I'm proud to say I've never believed in multiculturalism for even one minute of my life," said Saltzberg.

I can't believe anyone would say that out loud, let alone to the media.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Magikal Canucks Third-Line

Magikal

Posted
Posted

The guy who put this article out seems to be a bit of an extremist and borderline racist but there are a few good points brought up. Mostly just on the topic of promoting the idea that all immigrants should learn about Canada's culture, daily customs, social norms and at least one of our official languages.

However to brand, label or full on disrespect and hate someone because of their skin colour or cultural background is shameful and agianst just about everything that Canada is and stands for.

Canada accepts people from all cultures, creeds and walks of life and that is great. But those who come here and are accepted by the country as a whole should be more than willing to learn to be compatable with our society and learn one of our languages.

It is not about censoring or abolishing immigrants native tongues and cultures but more about promoting Canada's already existing ones.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jai604 Canucks Regular

Jai604

Posted
Posted

As a product of immigration (my parents immigrated here well over 40 years ago) I have mixed feelings about the entire issue.

I firmly believe in multiculturalism and people's rights to use whatever language they please. At the same time, it irks me that a lot of immigrants have absolutely no desire to learn English and integrate into Canadian culture. Richmond unfortunately is the most commonly used example of this.

In my experience I haven't met too many over racists here in Vancouver. I have, of course, come across a few douchebags here and there, but I don't believe racism to be the reason that Richmond is the way that it is. I don't know why or what has caused such localized pockets of certain cultures in this city.

I was born in this country and first and foremost consider myself Canadian before anything else, and I sometimes feel that I get lumped into the same group as the immigrants who don't speak English and don't want anything to do with Canadian culture.

I'm a bit torn over the entire issue. I feel as if people should at least make an effort to speak the language if they want to come here and enjoy the freedoms and benefits we have in this country.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Offensive Threat Canucks Third-Line

Offensive Threat

Posted
Posted

My mom emigrated to Canada 56 years ago and did not speak English. But she is white so Saltzberg probably wouldnt have a problem with it. Yeah hes a racist and would most likely be a sheet wearing klansman if it was socially acceptable so I can disregard anything he says about any issue.

BTW My Moms from Germany. You want to see racism that is completely over the top head over there. The stuff they say is amazing. I couldnt make up stuff that bad if I tried.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
GLASSJAW Canucks Star

GLASSJAW

Posted
Posted

I would give him a pass because as a person of Chinese descent, who doesn't speak and barely understands Chinese, I like some English on my signs.

However, this quote from the article is just so blatantly racist.

I can't believe anyone would say that out loud, let alone to the media.

rephrasing my post

multiculturalism has been questioned and discussed in plenty of forums up and down the media. why do you think its racist to question whether or not it has worked?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...