While rainbow crosswalks and Pride flags have continued to be a source of controversy and targets of vandalism in Metro Vancouver and B.C., that hasn’t stopped them from appearing across the province, including breaking ground in new areas.

A new rainbow crosswalk has just been created in a B.C. village in the Fraser Canyon.

After Lytton RCMP Commander Sgt. Curtis Davis asked the town’s chief administrative officer about creating a rainbow crosswalk in Lytton, the proposal was passed at a June 12 council meeting.

After receiving the support of the principal of Kumsheen High School, the school agreed to pay for the paint.

Sgt. Davis prepared the crosswalk for painting by powerwashing it while Kumsheen students painted the rainbow on June 17 and 18 with help from RCMP officers.

“I have family, friends, and colleagues in the 2SLGBTQ+ community,” Sgt. Davis stated in a news release. “This is a small thing to do in support and to create awareness.”

Rainbow crosswalks have been installed in numerous communities in B.C. but many have also been vandalized, including in Burnaby, Surrey, White Rock, Courtenay, and Salmon Arm in 2018.

Most recently, Pride flags flown by the Ladner United Church were vandalized twice in Delta.

However, communities have also been rising up in response to these anti-LGBT acts, including in Delta and Langley, with numerous community organizations or members displaying an outpouring of LGBT support to counter acts of hate.

For reasons ranging from family or community rejection or a lack of local LGBT–related resources, many LGBT people in the past often relocated from smaller communities to larger urban centres where LGBT neighbourhoods were established in order to escape discrimination or exclusion while finding support and acceptance.

However, the increasing appearance of symbols of LGBT acceptance and support can help LGBT individuals to feel able to remain in or even move to small or rural towns, villages, or districts.