Judge dismisses lawsuit over English-only sign in government building

Published Dec 09, 2024 • Last updated Dec 09, 2024 • 1 minute read

A Vancouver couple who “emphatically requested … an explicit commitment” from a nanny to work to the beginning of December are suing her for damages after she quit without notice with six weeks left on her contract. Photo by Corgarashu /Fotolia

There is no compensation for hurtful signs.

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Michael Thibodeau, a retired federal IT consultant from Ottawa, has lost a bid for thousands in damages after seeing an English only “caution wet floor” sign in a government building, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.

Thibodeau was seeking $19,500 in damages, arguing the English-only warning caused him “loss of enjoyment of life.”

“I am not convinced Mr. Thibodeau is deserving of any of the remedies he seeks,” wrote Justice Peter Pamel. There was “no basis” for compensating Thibodeau, he said. “I am dismissing Mr. Thibodeau’s application.”

The Department of Public Works agreed its signs were in breach of bilingualism law.

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“I feel my rights are infringed when I am confronted with this type of unilingual English or predominantly English signage. It causes me frustration, stress and loss of enjoyment of life. I suffered stress because my identity as a francophone was threatened and I felt like a second-class citizen,” Thibodeau wrote to the court.

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“The right to be served in French is a constitutional right and to me is a very important fundamental right. As an individual I have identified with the French language since I was very young and when I am refused the right to be served in French in terms of either service or signage my identity as an individual and my sense of belonging to one of the two founding peoples of Canada is threatened.”

Thibodeau has been self-represented in courtrooms and has won damages.

In 2021, a federal judge awarded Thibodeau $11,000 after he discovered the website at the St. John’s Airport Authority wished travellers “Happy St. Patrick’s Day” in English only.

“Mr. Thibodeau has not visited the St. John’s Airport himself,” the court said.

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