A homophobic statement scrawled on a retaining wall in Lower Gibsons has been described as “hate speech” by the Town and anyone with information about the incident is being asked to contact the Sunshine Coast RCMP.
“We consider this to be hate speech, as well as a waste of taxpayer resources, and have filed an RCMP report,” Elizabeth Quayle, communications coordinator with the Town of Gibsons, told Coast Reporter.
On Monday afternoon a local business owner notified the Town about the graffiti, which was located in Inglis Park near the rainbow crosswalks at Four Corners, which were subject to vandalism in July.
The statement, “Gay is not OK,” was scrawled on the retaining wall in letters up to a metre tall and six metres across. The business owner spent about an hour scrubbing off the bright orange paint before two members of the public works department arrived and completed the job.
“Removing the paint took considerable time and effort. It could not be pressure-washed away, and required the use of very strong solvents, combined with manual scrubbing with a steel brush,” said Quayle.
Staff did not notice the vandalism in the morning and so believe it occurred during the day.
The RCMP file number for the incident is 19-7685.
