A Pride flag displayed at Val-David’s train station, north of Montreal, has been vandalized four times since it was put up last week for Pride Week. The flag, first installed at Gare Val-David on July 27, was vandalized the following day. The day after that, it was removed from the pole and burned on the ground. The municipality reinstalled the flag on Aug. 3, but it was ripped from the pole and vandalized again the next day. After it was put back up on Aug. 5 with a security camera, the flag disappeared again on Thursday. The camera did not capture the incident. “I was very disappointed when I saw that,” said Mayor of Val-David, Jean-Claude Rocheleau. The municipality condemned the incidents on its Facebook page. “The population in Val-David is very open-minded; they are inclusive. We have a big LGBTQ+ community here, and we never have anything else like this.” When the flag’s installation was publicized on the municipality’s Facebook page, the page received several disapproving comments, Rocheleau said. His personal Facebook page also received disapproving comments about the flag’s installation. According to Rocheleau, a report has been filed with provincial police, Sûreté du Québec, and measures have been taken to enhance security at the site. “I never thought that would happen here. It was very important for us and to be inclusive,” Rocheleau said. Despite repeated vandalism, Rocheleau said they are reinstalling the flag and camera on Thursday. The flag was set to be up from July 31 to Aug. 9. Rocheleau said the municipality plans to continue the flag tradition, along with other initiatives, to celebrate Pride week next year. “It’s a matter of principle. We just can’t let those people win. It’s very important for us to keep the flag up for the week,” he said. “Our message is we’re going to continue, but next year, we’re going to do more to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community.”
