RIVERVIEW, N.B. - A civic official in New Brunswick is outraged that vandals would deface a town monument to abused women and vows to have it cleaned up in time for the Dec. 6 ceremony to remember victims of the 1989 Montreal Massacre.
"It's sickening," Bob Clive, Riverview's director of parks and recreation, said Monday as he looked at the yellow spray paint on the monument.
"It's one thing to see this stuff on walls or bridges, but to see it on something this precious is sickening."
The monument, a round granite slab, was covered in yellow spray paint and a swastika was painted over the peace dove. Parts of the inscription were completely obscured by paint. On the concrete base someone spray-painted racist slogans.
Clive said it appears the vandals took their time to paint the monument, which is located in Caseley Park next to the town hall.
Police are investigating the incident.
Dec. 6 marks the 20th anniversary of the Montreal Massacre. On that day in 1989, 25-year-old Marc Lepine killed 14 women at Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique. Each year, ceremonies are held to mark the day and pay tribute to those 14 engineering students and other women who have been the victims of abuse or violence.
Clive says he's not sure exactly when the vandals spray-painted the monument because it wasn't noticed by town staff until Monday.
