Take legal action on hospital signs

Re: “English signs must go, watchdog tells Lachute hospital” (Montreal Gazette, Jan. 10)

How can the Office québécois de la langue française justify removing all English signs from the Lachute hospital when Bill 101 allows for the use of another language in addition to French if this is required by health and safety considerations? About 15 per cent of the region’s residents identify themselves as English-speaking, and surely signs in the hospital indicating, for example, where different medical services may be found bear on these users’ health and safety. Geoffrey Chambers, president of the Quebec Community Groups Network, suggests a dialogue is necessary to clarify the proper extent of the French-language office’s authority in this matter. However, given that the opposition of nine local mayors to this removal of English from signs hasn’t swayed the language office or the hospital authority, I fear that just dialogue may not be enough. What may be needed is legal action to determine this issue not only for the Lachute hospital, but for all hospitals in Quebec serving a significant minority of English speakers. Robert Hajaly, Montreal