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This week, concerns were raised to Richmond city council over a sandwich board sign outside a local furniture shop that advertised it was hiring for a Chinese sales person.

The sign outside the Furniture Land outlet on Bridgeport Road read: “Now hiring: We are hiring Chinese sales person.” An unidentified employee at the shop elaborated, saying the company had designed the sign to seek a “Chinese sales person” because they wanted to hire someone who can speak Mandarin or Cantonese to speak to customers who do not understand English.

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Some are calling it a human rights violation since the B.C. Human Rights Code prohibits hiring practices, including advertising, that unjustifiably discriminate against would-be employees based on characteristics such as gender, sexual orientation, age, race or colour.

Human rights lawyer Lindsay Lyster said if the sign is simply poorly worded and that the shop was seeking to hire anyone person who can speak Chinese languages, then Furniture Land “may have a defence.”

The sign was later removed by city council but for different reasons under newly passed bylaws about free-standing retail signage.