B.C. political party leader criminally charged after rainbow crosswalk vandalism

A pride flag is photographed during a Pride flag raising ceremony in Saskatoon on Thursday, June 1, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Heywood Yu

Two men accused of vandalizing a rainbow crosswalk in Surrey during a “protest” are now facing criminal charges, police announced Monday.

On May 30, Amrit Birring posted a video to social media of himself and another man using black spray paint on the Pride crosswalk at the intersection of Old Yale Road and University Drive, while a third man held up a sign.

Birring, who is the leader of the Freedom Party of B.C., was arrested and released on an undertaking with conditions a week later, an event he also posted about online.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, the 58-year-old said he did not view the act as vandalism and he was “sending a message” as a form of “activism.”

Birring has run, unsuccessfully, in provincial and federal elections and for mayor of Surrey.

On June 26, Birring and 67-year-old Errol Povah were formally charged with one count each of mischief over $5,000.

The Surrey Police Service says Povah defaced the same crosswalk again the day after the B.C. Prosecution Service approved the charge—an act that was also captured on video and posted online.

Police say Birring turned himself in to headquarters on June 26 and was released with conditions pending an upcoming court date. Povah was arrested in Vancouver on July 3, and he picked up a second mischief charge.

The vandalism was condemned by Surrey Pride, Surrey-Cloverdale MLA Elenor Sturko and Attorney General Nikki Sharma.

Anyone with information on the incidents is asked to call the SPS at 604-599-0502 and quote file numbers 26-54029 (SP) or 26-65989 (SP).

With files from The Canadian Press