Canadian officials are scrambling to correct a number of glaring French grammar mistakes and spelling errors on plaques erected at the new war memorial in Vimy Ridge, France.
News emerged Thursday that French signs inside the memorial's visitors centre were rife with mistakes -- with just days to go before world leaders, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper, gather for a memorial on Monday to mark the 90th anniversary of the battle at Vimy Ridge.
In total, 3,598 Canadians perished and thousands were wounded in the 1917 battle. It marked a coming of age for Canada's military and is widely viewed as a key moment in deciding the outcome of the First World War.
The errors are included on plaques detailing the battle which were prepared by volunteers, The Globe and Mail reports.
The mistakes range from misspelled words -- chambres spelled "chambers" and explosifs spelled "explosives" -- down to badly conjugated verbs and phrases that are simply not part of the French vernacular.
Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson told reporters that the signs that include mistakes have been removed and will not be on display when the leaders gather this weekend.
The plaques will be replaced in the memorial when the mistakes are corrected, possibly not until Monday when the actual ceremony takes place, Thompson said.
"When mistakes happen we want to be forgiving," he said, "but we also have to understand that we have to make it right and we are committed to doing that.
A spokesman for Thompson said volunteers are responsible for the gaffes, not members of the department, though he would not provide their names and only said they are Canadian.
Retired Colonel Michel Drapeau said the mistake reflects badly on Canada and its appreciation of veterans. It also makes Canada look unprofessional at a time when the world is watching, he said.
"We come across as amateurs. And veterans, including myself, will see that as a bit of a slap in the face, an absence of care, an absence of attention," he told The Globe.
"And, in a country like Canada with two languages that are official, there is absolutely no reason for it. The excuse that we have left this to volunteers simply doesn't wash. It just doesn't cut it with me."
Thompson also faced tough questions about why Veterans Affairs is not providing lunch to 3,600 Canadian students who will be participating in the celebrations in Vimy Ridge.
Organizers had told teachers that lunch would be provided on April 9, but Thompson said on Thursday that a misunderstanding had occurred and students would have to buy their own lunches.
