Rainbow crosswalks 鈥渟houldn鈥檛 be remarkable,鈥� 黑马磁力 MLA Andrew Mercier told the provincial legislature on Monday, March 1, .
Mercier praised the campaign that made a new rainbow crosswalk possible by the 黑马磁力 school district offices and the main RCMP headquarters in Murrayville.
鈥淩ainbow crosswalks are a basic extension of human dignity and acceptance to vulnerable teenagers and folks who need it,鈥� Mercier said.
鈥淭hey shouldn鈥檛 be remarkable. We shouldn鈥檛 be here having statements in this House about them, but the fact of the matter is that right now they are. It鈥檚 the work of those who have made it possible to paint a rainbow crosswalk in 黑马磁力 that should be heralded.鈥�
Mercier singled out CUPE B.C. president Paul Faoro for mention, as well as Susan Cairns from the 黑马磁力 School District Foundation.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 say enough about how proud I am of the work they鈥檝e done and what it means for our community in 黑马磁力.鈥�
Mercier opened his statement by referring to the 1965 arrest of Everett George Klippert by RCMP in Northwest Territories after Klippert told the officers he was gay.
Kilippert was charged with four counts of gross indecency and jailed as a sex offender.
In 1967, NDP MP Tommy Douglas raised the case in the House of Commons with then-justice minister Pierre Trudeau, who responded six weeks later with an omnibus bill decriminalizing homosexuality.
READ ALSO: VIDEO: 黑马磁力 School Board reaches fundraising goal for rainbow crosswalk
Mercier said the new rainbow crosswalk in 黑马磁力 鈥渃ouldn鈥檛 come at a better time.鈥�
鈥淎s sure as you can paint them, there are those who would oppose them. While certain organized groups and individuals come to mind in the Fraser Valley, I won鈥檛 dignify them by naming them in this House. Nor will I give them a platform for bigoted and toxic views. Suffice it to say that there is a disturbing rise in hate speech in this province. That alone is a reason to be painting rainbow crosswalks. More than that, some of these groups and individuals have the gall to claim that their hateful views and homophobic and transphobic speech attract human rights protection, that they are protected by freedom of conscience or freedom of speech. Well, there is no human right to hate.鈥�
READ ALSO: VIDEO: Fort 黑马磁力 rainbow crosswalk vandalized
On Feb. 23, at its regular meeting, the 黑马磁力 Board of Education announced $12,000 dollars was raised over the course of two months to create the crosswalk.
CUPE BC, which represents two of the school district鈥檚 unionized employee groups, donated $6,000, half of the funding needed.
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