Niagara LGBTQ+ advocate says defaced Pride crosswalk is part of a growing pattern of attacks

A Niagara Region trans woman who has been vocal about LBGTQ+ rights says she wasn't surprised to learn vandals have defaced a rainbow crosswalk in Niagara-on-the-Lake. 

Sabrina Hill, former chair of Niagara Region's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Committee, who ran as a candidate in last fall's regional election, says Pride flags and crosswalks have been targeted in the past year in the region. She sees the vandalism – which happened at about 3 a.m. Monday at Anderson Lane and Niagara Stone Road – as the latest manifestation of a sentiment she believes is driving a small but increasingly more aggressive group of people in the area.

"They want the community to know someone will always be pushing to keep these marginalized and equity-seeking communities down," said Hill, who says she received numerous harassing phone calls a day, often in the middle of the night, during her election campaign. "They have taken it upon themselves to be the lightbearer of this insane, cruel ideology."

Suspect spray-painted camera before defacing crosswalk

Niagara Regional Police believe someone climbed a utility pole near the defaced Niagara-on-the-Lake crosswalk on Monday morning, between 3 and 3:10 a.m., and spray-painted the lens of a surveillance camera mounted there.

"The suspect proceeded to deface the crosswalk by spray-painting a profane word and doing a 'burnout' that left visible traction marks," police said in a release issued Tuesday.

The crosswalk is beside the Niagara-on-the-Lake community centre and library. Police did not say what word was written there. 

Photos of the scene show thick, black tire marks turning the corner and crossing the Progress Pride flag painted on the street. The Progress Pride flag is a redesign of the classic Pride flag that represents demands for a more inclusive society, and includes black and brown stripes to represent communities of colour, along with the pink, light blue and white of the transgender flag.

"There is no suspect or vehicle description currently available," said the police release. It said detectives are investigating the case as "mischief" and have been contacting local businesses and residents to ask whether they have surveillance footage or saw anything suspicious. 

"In addition, volunteer members of the Niagara-on-the-Lake Fire and Emergency Services who responded to the Anderson Lane fire station for an unrelated call for service at 2:39 a.m… are being asked to recall and report any persons or vehicles that may have seemed out of place," police said.

The St. Catharines Standard reported that this is the third time the crosswalk has been vandalized since being installed two months ago.

'It deflates me' to see crosswalks defaced, says community member

Hill, who works as a provincial public servant, believes that as marginalized people have gained increasing understanding and acceptance from mainstream society, a small contingent that opposes their rights have become more entrenched and aggressive.

"There's this new wave of conservatives that know they're on the wrong side of history, and losing their culture war, so they're escalating," she said, referring to recent anti-Pride contingents at meetings of the Niagara Catholic District School board and Niagara Public School Board this year, and a group of delegates last year pushing against the Niagara Region's Strategic Action Plan, which includes passages on improving employment equity.

At a Niagara Catholic board meeting in May, trustee Natalia Benoit appeared to compare flying the Pride flag to flying the Nazi flag, although she later denied she was making that comparison.

"No flags should be flown which would cause conflict and controversy in our schools. Alleging the comparison was only spreading lies provoking a hostile environment," she told CBC Hamilton in an email.

Hill said she attended one of the board's meetings about the Pride flag in June and said there were the same 10 to 15 people in the gallery that she has seen at other anti-Pride events around the region. She said the people were holding signs that referred to gay and trans people as "groomers," and that there were about a dozen police officers present as well.

"These groups show up and vilify and badger these other trustees that are voting to keep the Pride flag up."

Hill said a Pride crosswalk in downtown St. Catharines was also recently vandalized with burnout marks.

"When I see these Pride crosswalks defaced… it deflates me a bit. A little bit is taken from my energy," she said.