One day after Global News ran a story on a racist display that has been up for years in the town of Vermilion, Alta., the signs have been removed.
“The house with the racist signage situation has been resolved and all signage has been removed by Saturday morning,” said an email from Mayor Caroline McAuley.
The signs had been on the property in the town of 4,000 for years; in 2017, a criminal complaint was made but charges were never laid because Crown prosecutors did not believe a conviction was likely.
Many of the signs, which Global News has chosen not to show, included racial slurs and misogynistic messages.
The town said previously it had been working with the man who owned the property towards a solution but that recently “the messaging has got substantially more aggressive.”
Kevin Lucas, the town of Vermilion’s community services director said on Friday that the town had recently filed a cease-and-desist order calling for the man to remove the signs.
“I don’t believe this is reflective of the town of Vermilion,” Lucas said. “The town of Vermilion is a very progressive and welcoming community … this is a one-off. We’re dealing with it the best we can.
“It’s hurtful to the community, but it also brings to the forefront how we’re not immune to anything. Even though we’re a small community, we’re not immune to this type of behaviour.”
Vermilion is located about 200 kilometres east of Edmonton.
–With files from Global News’ Phil Heidenreich and Sarah Komadina