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       Hundreds gathered despite pouring rain in St. John's on July 1, 2021 in front of the Colonial Building downtown for a 'cancel Canada Day' demonstration in solidarity with Indigenous communities.

       Sarah Smellie/The Canadian Press

       Two prominent buildings in St. John’s and a statue dedicated to the local police force have been vandalized with bright red paint.

       Red spray-painted letters spelling “Guilty” stained a walkway in front of the Basilica Cathedral in Newfoundland and Labrador’s capital city on Thursday evening.

       This morning, just a short walk away, a statue depicting a Royal Newfoundland Constabulary holding a little girl’s hand was covered in a splatter of crimson.

       On Thursday afternoon, drips and pours of red paint had hardened on the steps of the historic Colonial Building, as hundreds of people cheered and chanted beneath them during a “cancel Canada Day” demonstration.

       Const. James Cadigan of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary said today in a statement the force shares the feelings of loss and outrage following the recent discoveries of hundreds of unmarked graves on the sites of former residential schools in the country.

       Cadigan says the force is legally mandated to protect property and any damage will be investigated.

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