Canadian far-right party leader charged over rainbow crosswalk vandalism

A far-right political party leader in Canada is facing criminal charges after a video posted to social media appeared to show him and another man vandalizing an LGBTQ+ rainbow crosswalk in Surrey, British Columbia.

Amrit Birring, of the Freedom Party of British Columbia, posted the footage to his X account on 30 May with the caption: “Save your children from pedophilia.” The video shows Birring and another man, identified by CTV News as Errol Povah, using black spray paint on the rainbow crossing in a Surrey city centre neighbourhood while Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son” plays.

In the video, Birring addresses the camera and says: “You need to stand for your children! Otherwise your children will turn into lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, transgender, queer. Your daughter will marry another girl! It’s up to you to stop it!”

Povah then appears in the shot and says: “Grow some gonads, people,” before adding: “Get out here and do stuff like this, because this is tyranny. Not what we’re doing, what the city did. That is tyranny. And when tyranny rules, resistance is duty.”

Birring was arrested soon after posting the video, CTV News reported. This week, Surrey Police Service said that Birring and Povah were both formally charged on 26 June with one count each of mischief over $5,000.

The police also said Povah returned to the scene and defaced the same crosswalk again one day after the BC Prosecution Service approved the charge.

Surrey Pride condemned the vandalism in a statement shared at the start of Pride Month.

“Surrey Pride BC stands firmly with our community following the hateful vandalism of the Surrey Central rainbow crosswalk,” the group said.

It added that the rainbow crosswalk represents “thousands of stories, identities, families, and lives” and described it as a symbol of belonging, safety, and respect.

The organization said the act was meant to “divide and intimidate,” but argued that it instead showed the strength of Surrey’s LGBTQ+ community.

Surrey Pride also praised City of Surrey officials for responding quickly, saying: “Accountability matters. So does community.”

Rainbow crosswalks have long been used as public symbols of LGBTQ+ visibility, and attacks on them are often treated as more than simple vandalism because they can signal hostility toward queer and trans people in the surrounding community.

https://en-gb.facebook.com/pinknews/