Dorval, Que., installs Inuktitut road signs, 1 year after Inuit women were struck and killed by vehicles

Just south of theMontralinternational airport,Inuktitut syllabics now point the way to various locations: the shopping centre, the Dorval station and the Ullivik Centre.

The signs, which include French and English as well, mark new pedestrian crossings. They'repart of a promise Dorval, Que., Mayor Marc Doret made in August 2022after two Inuit women were struck and killed by vehicles as they tried to walk from Ullivik into Dorval.

Ullivik is a lodging centre that opened in 2016. It gives medical patients from Nunavik a place to stay in Montralwhen they head south for treatment.

"I made a commitment with our director general to find a way to provide a safe and secure environment for those staying at the Ullivik residence," Doret said in astatement.

"We decided solutions needed to be found, not just discussed, and we acted without waiting for higher levels of government or ministries."

The deaths of Mary-Jane Tulugak, 22, and Nellie Niviaxie, 26, who were both from communities in Nunavik, prompted a coroner's investigationin 2022. At the time, provincial police said both women were making their way along the shoulders of two highways around 55 Avenue when they were killed.

Tulugak, who had travelled south for a minor surgery, was in a wheelchair when a driver struck her.

Ullivik director Rita Novalingatold CBCin Inuktitut thatshe hopes the new signs prevent anything like that from happening in the future.

She said the lodging centre has other things it is doing as well to help make the area more safe for people who stay there, including providing Ullivik residents with kits that have things like important phone numbers and information inside.