Rainbow crosswalks will soon be painted in front of South Peace Secondary School, making Dawson Creek the latest B.C. city to adopt the symbol of support for the LGBTQ community.
Dawson Creek City Coun. Mark Rogers presented a proposal for a rainbow crosswalk at 15th Street and 109th Ave. at Monday's council meeting.
Prince George and Smithers are among the Northern B.C. towns to adopt the crosswalks this year.
"It's symbolic to many people for many reasons," Rogers said. "It's the symbolism that people should feel safe to be who they are. The message is to accept everyone in our community regardless of their ethnic background, religion or sexual identity. It's just a message of inclusion."
For Brent Hodson, a gay man who grew up in Northeast B.C., it's a welcome message.
"It makes the city cooler for doing it. It's a small token a municipality can do to show support for other communities in the community."
The proposal comes on the heels of Fort St. John's first ever Pride walk, which was held in June and attracted around 200 people.
"It's really awesome to see all the different places in our region do things like this," Hodson said.
While acknowledging there might be controversy—crosswalks in Smithers and Kelowna have been vandalized, for example—Rogers believed most would accept the message of inclusion.
"I know there might be some controversy in the community regarding that, but I would think not," Rogers said. "I think the kids are a heck of a lot more tolerant than a lot of the adults are."
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