Someone covered the 'C' in every Trutch Street sign in Vancouver

One year after Vancouver city council voted to rename Trutch Street, a vigilante has taken the matter in their own hands.

Earlier this week, someone covered up the letter "C" on every Trutch Street sign in the city – resulting in the signs instead reading "Truth Street."

The City of Vancouver told CTV News it learned of the vandalism Wednesday afternoon, and that crews were dispatched Thursday to remove the signs so they can be "assessed, repaired and reinstalled."

"If the signs cannot be repaired, new signs will be fabricated and installed next week," a spokesperson said in an email statement.

The spokesperson also noted the process of renaming the street is being led by the Musqueam Indian Band, with support from the city. A new name has yet to be announced.

Councillors voted to rename Trutch Street, which runs across the city's Kitsilano neighbourhood, in July 2021, acknowledging the namesake's history of oppressing and displacing Indigenous people in British Columbia.

Joseph Trutch served as the province's first lieutenant governor and as chief commissioner of lands and works, a role he used to dramatically reduce the size of Indigenous reserves.

His racist views were well-documented, including in a letter to then-prime minister John A. Macdonald in 1872 that described B.C.'s Indigenous population as "utter savages living along the coast."

In June 2022, Victoria city council also voted in favour of renaming the capital city's Trutch Street to Su'it Street. Su'it is the Lekwungen word for truth, according to the city.