Saskatoon Catholic schools' office splattered with rainbow paint

Following the leak of a controversial email, Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools' downtown office was hit with an apparent act of vandalism Monday morning.

The front windows were splattered with fluorescent paint and butterfly, unicorn and flower stickers, and paper hearts. The sidewalk in front of the office had a rainbow and messages like "we all belong" and "it's queer here" scrawled with chalk.

As of noon Monday, the windows had not been cleaned.

The protest comes after an internal email was widely circulated on social media on Thursday.

The message to school principals from Tom Hickey said to keep students away from a LGBTQ2S+-themed "Rainbow Tent" at the upcoming Nutrien Children's Festival of Saskatchewan.

In the email, Hickey said allowing students to visit the tent would not be "supported."

The email was met with criticism online by many who felt it was intolerant. Following the leak of the email, OUTSaskatoon, an LGBTQ2S+ advocacy group, called the school division's stance "deeply regrettable."

• Get the CTV News app for Saskatoon area breaking news alerts and top stories 

A day after the email was shared online, the Catholic division's education director issued a statement to staff, and parents and caregivers, apologizing for the "deep hurt" the email caused some, while also saying the division must provide education "consistent with Catholic teachings."

In an email sent to CTV News early Monday afternoon, a Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools spokesperson said the division had no comment concerning the incident.