Surrey LGBTQ+ groups celebrate resilience following rainbow crosswalk vandalism<\/p>\n
Published 4:00 pm Friday, June 19, 2026<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re here, we\u2019re Queer, we\u2019re not going anywhere,\u201d is Sher president Annie Ohana\u2019s message to the men who vandalized the rainbow crosswalk in Surrey a few weeks before.<\/p>\n
After the Pride<\/a> flag was raised at City Hall<\/a> on Friday (June 19), along with Ohana, Surrey Pride founder Martin Rooney, president Donald Crowe, Senator Baltej Dhillon, and other community members made the short walk to the rainbow crosswalk on University Drive.<\/p>\n A few weeks before, several people visited the sidewalk and spray-painted black lines and circles across it. The so-called \u201cprotest\u201d was advertised on social media beforehand, and they posted a video of the incident online.<\/p>\n One individual has since been arrested, and charges have been forwarded to the Crown.<\/p>\n Ohana said in reference to the videos, \u201cWe\u2019re taking pictures (today) because they\u2019re allowed to post hate, so we can post love.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThese rainbow crosswalks are not the only thing we want, right? We need policy, we need safety, we need joy, we need all of it, but to have this here in the centre of town is incredibly important,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n Ohana added that she was grateful that the city acted quickly and cleaned up most of the paint, but hopes it gets a \u201cfresh coat\u201d soon.<\/p>\n The Now-Leader has reached out to the City to see if it plans to repaint it.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Rainbow crosswalk vandalism leads to arrest of one man in Surrey<\/a><\/p>\n READ MORE: Vandals deface rainbow crosswalk in Surrey, post video to social media<\/a><\/p>\n About the Author: Anna Burns<\/a><\/p>\n I cover breaking news, health care, court, Vancouver Rise FC, Vancouver Goldeneyes and social issues-related topics for the Surrey Now-Leader.\u00a0anna.burns@surreynowleader.com<\/a>\u00a0Follow Anna on Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n