Hate-motivated vandalism to rainbow crosswalks in Ontario a growing trend

It’s become a growing trend in recent years.

Rainbow crosswalks in the province meant to show a town’s support toward its 2SLGBTQQIA+ community are being vandalized as the country sees an overall spike in hate incidents involving sexual orientation.

The vandalism is usually by either tire track skid marks or some paint, with the latest reported hate-motivated incident taking place in Smiths Falls.

After unveiling two Pride crosswalks in June, both at the intersection of Beckwith Street North and Church Street, as a part of Pride month celebrations, Smiths Falls mayor Shawn Pankow told guest host Derick Fage on The Sam Laprade Show, Wednesday, Aug 16, that the town has had to repaint the crosswalks multiple times since their installation.

Mayor Pankow said the first vandalism occurred only a few days after the crosswalks were unveiled.

“Initially, it was someone who painted over them and wrote some words, and there have been people who dumped paint on them,” he said.

Then, the town discovered more vandalism on the crosswalks a couple of days ago, with individuals again attempting to deface the town’s symbol of support for its 2SLGBTQQIA+ community, added the mayor.

“It’s just frustrating because I tend to think these people would not likely damage any other property,” said Pankow. “But they seem motivated to target these crosswalks, largely because of what they represent.”

While it seems Smiths Falls is facing more hate crime incidents, it’s not the only area in the province seeing an uptick in these types of acts.

A Pride crosswalk in Prescott, Ont., roughly 60km southeast of Smith Falls, was vandalized in June of 2020 by tread marks, marking its second time in two years. Meanwhile, a woman from North Grenville was charged after defacing a rainbow crosswalk in Kemptville in June 2021. In Waterloo, Ont., a town southwest of Toronto, had its Pride crosswalk vandalized in June of this year. 

Recent data also showed that hate crimes have risen significantly in Ontario and Canada since the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The city of Ottawa saw a 23.5 per cent increase in reported hate-based incidents between July 2022 and July 2023.

Data from Statistics Canada revealed that Ontario hate crimes based on sexual orientation were up 107 per cent in 2021. The agency also revealed hate crimes reported to police continued to spike across the country, as people were targeted by race, religion, and sexual orientation.

More specifically, data showed that hate incidents reported to police involving sexual orientation rose by 63 per cent across Canada.

The mayor of Smiths Falls told CityNews Ottawa that the town is not only disappointed with this act of hate against the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community but that the time and money spent repairing damage is also taking away from other town needs.

Pankow explained that while the cost of repairing crosswalks is modest, there are time and costs associated with deploying staff. Instead of working on initiatives that are moving the community forward, they have to backtrack and repair the damage.

But he added the Pride Flag crosswalks’ unveiling was a joyous day, with solid support from the community.

“So many people said how welcome they feel in our community, and even some who grew up facing great ridicule and humiliation said it meant so much to them to see the community sending the message that this is a place where everyone has the right to live their life the way they want,” he added.

While vandalism of the new rainbow crosswalks has been a setback, said the Mayor, there has been overwhelming support from the community, and they stand in unity against hateful actions directed toward the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community.