City officials found the George Vancouver statue defaced Thursday, amid the take down of several contentious statues in the U.S.
Police are investigating the incident, after finding the City Hall statue splattered in blue and grey paint, along with an oily substance.
RELATED: Overdose Deaths in B.C. Last Month Surpass The Province’s COVID-19 Deaths
A graffiti removal team arrived at 8:30 am, Thursday, and was able to remove most of the paint.
[sjnow-ad-large-leaderboard]
Here is a closer look at the vandalism on the statue. Unknown if this is related — but the mayor will be giving an update on policing at 11:30 this morning. https://t.co/0TvR6ApcjM @CTVVancouver @ctvmorninglive pic.twitter.com/4p9rn7v7rW
— Sheila Scott (@Sheila_Scott) June 11, 2020
The statue is on the city’s heritage inventory list as, “a proud homage of a great explorer.”
However, this vandalism coincides with several U.S. statues coming down, as protesters say the historical figures celebrate colonialism and racism.
“It does strike me that it’s part of a broader conversation that’s taking place around us right now,” said Coun. Lisa Dominato to News 1130. “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.”
Vancouver residents have held two protests recently in solidarity with other Black Lives Matter movements.
For more Vancouver stories, head to our News section.
[sjnow-ad-large-leaderboard]