Assassination threats are increasing against the Canadian Prime Minister and his ministers
Threats against Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his colleagues in the federal government increased dramatically between 2019 and 2020, according to data from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as the Force Preventive Police unit opened 130 threat files targeting Trudeau and his ministers between January and July, compared to 100 during the period. Same as last year.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police did not disclose the nature of the threats. However, the publication of these numbers comes after several incidents in which prominent politicians were subjected to harassment and violence by private individuals.
Ontario's Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sports, Lisa McLeod, said in a statement Thursday that she is under police protection for the second time in several years.
The statement read: “After an interview she gave to the radio station CFRA about the harassment of women politicians, I can confirm that Secretary MacLeod is receiving police protection again because of the threatening emails she receives, and her personal car has had an unjustified harmful accident in Ottawa. ».
McLeod was last under police protection when she became the target of public backlash for her role in changing the county funding model on autism support in 2019.
A 41-year-old woman was arrested and charged with criminal harassment and threats against her.
Earlier in the week, the Ottawa Police Department launched a hate crime investigation after a video was released showing a man shouting profanity at an office worker for the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, Catherine McKenna, last Thursday.
A 90-second video posted on social media showed a man approaching the door of McKenna's office and knocking the bell.
When an employee opened the door and told him that the office was closed, the man uttered obscene words at McKenna before the woman closed the door.
McKenna called these terms "unacceptable" and said that such behavior is becoming more common than before.
"This is not an isolated incident," she said. "It does not concern me, my employees and my family only. In many cases, there are incidents against politicians, and often women politicians."
Some of them wrote the same profanity on McKenna's photo on the window of her campaign office after her re-election last fall.
In July, a Canadian Forces Reserve soldier, Corey Horen, was arrested after his pickup truck allegedly hit the gates of Rideau Hall, where the Governor General's residence and where the Prime Minister's family currently live.
Police said the soldier was armed with a semi-automatic rifle, two regular rifles, a pistol and four knives.
CBC News reported that he was carrying a large quantity of ammunition. Horin faces 22 criminal charges, including threatening the prime minister.
Such incidents were predicted by the former Privy Council writer Michael Wernicke, when he warned last year during his speech before a House of Commons committee that he feared that political speech in Canada had descended into such a grasp that could lead to a political assassination attempt.
“I am concerned about the increasing tide of incitement to violence when people use terms like“ treason ”and“ traitor ”in blatant terms, Wernicke told lawmakers in February of last year,“ such phrases are what lead to assassination. ” I am concerned that a politician will be shot in this country, and this year, during the political campaign. ”
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