From the Niagara Falls Review:
Father Louis Hennepin found Niagara Falls on his own without bilingual signs to tell him where to park his canoe. The Franciscan monk was the first European to write an account of visiting the falls, back in 1678. He wrote in French because he was from Belgium and probably because his boss, explorer LaSalle, was from France.
Now, 330 years later, Ontario legislators are looking at ways to help French-speaking tourists find the world-famous icon.
A private member’s bill at Queen’s Park is a step closer to making that happen after Liberal backbencher Jean-Marc Lalonde’s proposed law passed second reading last week without much fanfare or controversy.
Lalonde, a Franco-Ontarian from eastern Ontario, introduced Bill 21, the Provincial Parks and Major Provincial Tourist Attractions Sing Act, last year. It would require provincial parks, including the Niagara Parks Commission, to erect bilingual signs as English-only signs need replacement.