A Northern Alberta town on Thursday voted 663 to 639 to pass a measure banning rainbow crosswalks and the display of any non-Canadian flags on public property – which means the town’s one existing rainbow crosswalk outside of town hall will be painted over, the CBC reports.
Stephanie Bakker, the activist who gathered the petition signatures to put the plebiscite on the ballot after the Westlock, Alberta town council had voted to approve the crosswalk last June, told the CBC ahead of the vote that the council members had said “that they’re doing it out of compassion and caring and wanting to make the town inclusive, but… people are feeling a bit bullied.” Bakker said she was annoyed that the council members had campaigned against the ban/removal measure, which is “not really something you want to see from your elected representatives. Everything they’re doing is legal, I just really doubt if it’s ethical.”