A mural denouncing white supremacy has been vandalized again, leaving many residents in St. Henri calling on the borough to do more to stop the spike in vandalism in the area.
This time someone covered the street art with red paint.
"It wasn't the first time so I took a picture and put it on Facebook to show my (anger) regarding this issue," resident Yves Lavoie told CTV Montreal. "Those murals improve our city. They look better than what it was before and they bring a message."
The mural is part of a larger series of street art in the area painted by a group of Indigenous women. It's on the side of a building near St. Jacques and St. Antoine and reads "White Supremacy is Killing Me." The goal of the art is to improve the relationship between their people and the community.
"I think it was the act of an individual person," said Southwest borough councillor Craig Sauve. "This mural isn't going anywhere."
Sauve said the mural will be covered with a varnish to ensure it will not be damaged a fourth time.
For Yves Lavoie it's not enough. His own home was recently defaced and believes the situation in the borough warrants police intervention.
"There should be police patrolling in the neighbourhood to try and catch them," he said.
St. Henri has seen a spike in vandalism over the past few years; many shop owners have been targeted and accused of gentrifying the neighbourhood. Over the summer one restaurant on Notre-Dame St. was hit by vandals for the second time.
There have been others, however many of them appear to be random attacks.