The president of Battlefords Pride calls the act of defacing one of their posters as cowardly and hateful.
A poster promoting the groups Transgender Day of Remembrance event was put up in a public space at the Frontier Mall in North Battleford and was vandalized. It was graffitied with the words “Remember Sodom and Gomorrah” and “Eternal Fire.”
Battlefords Pride President Bobbisue Thomson says no other posters on the board were damaged.
“It’s disgusting and so hateful. Defacing anybody’s poster is bad but to deface it with hate, it’s terrible. It’s direct hatred towards a marginalized community who faces hate every day and it’s very upsetting.”
The Battlefords joined other communities in the international observance to remember transgender people around the world who lost their lives to violence and suicide with their event on November 20.
“This is why Pride is needed and why we need our space and why we need support. This doesn’t happen to the mainstream people, this is targeted hate at a marginalized minority.”
The incident was reported to the RCMP who are now investigating. Battlefords RCMP Sgt. Neil Tremblay says they haven’t been able to identify the person or people involved or when the incident happened.
“The location of the poster was not anywhere in the mall where there was any surveillance and we don’t know when in the last seven or so days that the item would have been defaced.”
Tremblay says the suspect if found would receive a mischief charge for defacing public property.