MONTREAL - Residents in Pointe-Saint-Charles are vowing to clean up a community mural that was vandalized over the weekend.
The mural on Knox Street was built in 2013 with the help of 12 local artists and more than 200 volunteers, as well as the cooperation of CN, which owns the retaining wall.
"We made it a community process to include the people from the neighbourhood," said Margot Silvestro, a coordinator with Collectif Au pied du mur.
Called 'La Pointe all-dress,' the mural took a year to complete and reflects the Pointe's past, starting with Indigenous people and showcasing industrialization and the neighbourhood's working-class roots.
"The project was to illustrate the strength of the community and the history of Pointe-Saint-Charles and the surroundings," said Silvestro.
Silvestro said the mural was vandalized overnight Saturday into Sunday.
"I was very upset Sunday morning," said Silvestro, who doesn't want to involve police. "I don't think criminalization of people doing tags is a good way to make an intervention. I believe in community work and community support."
More than 50 people have already offered to help rebuild the mural.
"We're going to need paint, we're going to need painting tools, and we're going to need energy to do it and support," said Silvestro, adding that there's also a chance for growth. "This is an opportunity to repaint the wall and include new people in the project and to renew the piece."
- With files from CTV News Montreal's Matt Gilmour
