Vandals strike George Vancouver statue outside city hall
Posted June 11, 2020 7:51 am.
Last Updated June 11, 2020 6:46 pm.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A statue of the man the City of Vancouver is named after has been vandalized.
Paint was tossed over the likeness of George Vancouver, which stands outside city hall in the area of Cambie Street and 12th Avenue, sometime overnight Thursday.
Statue of Captain George Vancouver vandalized overnight outside Vancouver City Hall. Covered in grey and blue paint and some kind of oily substance. pic.twitter.com/n1e9FAwKxs
— Mike Lloyd ☕️ (@llikemoyd) June 11, 2020
Blue and grey paint were still wet in the morning.
It’s unclear who is responsible for the vandalism, but Coun. Lisa Dominato said the act strikes her as symbolic of the broader conversation going on around anti-racism.
“Discrimination, marginalization, both in our country and across the border, and I think it’s an important conversation that we have to have. But it does strikes me that it’s part of a broader conversation that’s taking place around us right now,” she said.
— Mike Lloyd ☕️ (@llikemoyd) June 11, 2020
Dominato said Vancouver needs to have more conversations about how to publicly honour and recognize the diverse ethnocultural history of the city.
She feels a better job needs to be done in telling the collective story of Vancouver.
“As we’re having a conversation about Black Lives Matter, the African-Canadian community in Vancouver, we have a diverse, rich tapestry as a city and we need to do better of reflecting that in historical markers in our city,” she said.
Contractor called-in to remove paint from Captain George Vancouver at City Hall. pic.twitter.com/dIBg7NQnKg
— Bruce Claggett (@BruceClaggett) June 11, 2020
“It has largely focussed on early settlers and remnants of our colonial past. Indigenous peoples were the first peoples here and we’ve done great work on reconciliation. However, I think we need to do more right across the spectrum.”
The Vancouver Police Department is aware of the vandalism of the statue and said it is investigating.
“It is very unfortunate that incidents like this have happened,” Sgt. Aaron Roed says in an email. “We do have officers who are looking into this incident and will also look into anything similar to it. If anyone does have information regarding the statue being vandalized, please contact the VPD with any information.”
Crews began removing the paint Thursday morning.
