Fish story

When new signs were installed at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry's Fish Culture Station in North Bay, some Francophone residents noticed something fishy - the signs were in English only. Photos of them circulated on social media and in the local newspaper, and caught the notice of the area MPP. Responding to a complaint, our French Language Services Unit spoke with the Ministry, which quickly acknowledged that its signs at stations in North Bay and Sault Ste. Marie were not bilingual. But like many fish stories, this one continued to grow: the Ministry’s review led it to discover yet another unilingual sign, near Englehart. As of last week, new bilingual signs were installed at all of these stations. The Ministry also let us know that it has ensured that maps and other information at all nine of its fish culture stations are available in French and English, and it updated its website to note that tours in French can be arranged in designated areas.

Learn more about the French Language Services Unit which answers questions and takes complaints about services in French.
Read about how we helped other people in our Selected cases.