Downtown Winnipeg statue of Dale Hawerchuk vandalized

A statue of Dale Hawerchuk is among the latest to be tagged as Winnipeg faces a growing graffiti problem.

True North Sports and Entertainment (TN) confirmed the statue of the Winnipeg Jets star, located in True North Square, was hit with graffiti on the weekend and again on Monday.

“TN has a company under contract to remove this type of vandalism,” a spokesperson told CTV News. “They were contacted and the statue was cleaned up shortly after that notice.”

True North Square is far from the only spot in Winnipeg being targeted.

Tom Ethans, the executive director of Take Pride Winnipeg, pleaded with taggers to respect other people’s art.

“Unfortunately, when they start graffitiing on murals or statues, this is where it’s really wrong," Ethans said.

Ethans says Take Pride Winnipeg, the City of Winnipeg, and neighbourhood groups work throughout the year to either remove or paint over graffiti.

“It’s certainly gotten worse over the last few years,” Ethans said. “It’s amazing how quickly it adds up to thousands and thousands of tags every year.”

Ethans said if you notice graffiti, to contact 311 right away to have it cleaned, free of charge.