NDP leader Jagmeet Singh’s recent encounter with protesters at a campaign stop in Ontario, where he was verbally harassed, sheds a new spotlight on politicians’ safety, with Singh telling CTV News he’s experiencing a level of anger he still hasn’t has never seen before.
“What I’m noticing is true, there’s more of a polarization, an aggression and an anger that I haven’t seen before,” he said as he launched a pro-choice counter-protest to the March for Life demonstrations at the Parliament Hill visited on Thursday.
Singh received a barrage of insults earlier in the week when he left a rally for Ontario NDP candidate Jen Deck driving in Peterborough – Kawartha.
Several protesters shouted profanities at the NDP leader, calling him a “traitor” as he walked to his car.
Singh called it an “isolated” incident but acknowledged that no one – elected or not – should feel unsafe.
“People should be able to get angry at policies that are important to them. People should be able to express that, I think that’s a fundamental part of democracy, but nobody should feel physically threatened or threatened by being a leader,” he said.
Peterborough Police are now investigated the event.
On his way to Thursday’s pro-choice demonstration, Singh was hit again by what appeared to be some Freedom Convoy protesters. Although the encounter was not as aggressive as it was days ago, the police intervened.
With a security detail at hand, the NDP leader took a moment to reflect on the incidents and what it means for federal politics.
“I think of the message that’s being sent to a lot of people out there who might be thinking about politics and might not now when they see this level of tension and aggression. And that will discourage a lot of people who want to get involved in politics, and I think that’s very dangerous,” he said.
When asked if additional security guards were deployed to accompany Singh, a party spokesman told CTVNews.ca that it was not something they could discuss publicly.
Several politicians have spoken out about the harassment they have faced during their tenure.
In a statement issued during the 2021 federal election, Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner spoke about her experiences of online and in-person harassment and death threats.
“For me and many of my colleagues, especially women, of all political persuasions, this unfortunately happens all too often. And this increase in violent language, threats and verbal abuse is certainly not limited to politics,” she wrote.
Ahead of the arrival of the “Freedom Convoy” protest in Ottawa in January, a senior official overseeing security in the House of Commons, Sergeant-at-Arms Patrick McDonell, warned MPs that they had information suggesting the protesters this was planned by the homes of MPs living in the Ottawa-Gatineau region.
Although the threat did not appear to have materialized, McDonell had advised MPs not to interfere and “go to a safe place” if they saw a demonstration at their personal residence or constituency office.
Then, as the anti-mandate and anti-government protesters encamped in the streets around Parliament Hill, security was tightened for MPs passing through the precinct, including the RCMP having a provided escort service.
“As things got tense, we found that the threat to parliamentarians going to and from Parliament was greater. We provided a staging area that allowed MPs to meet if they wished to be driven to Parliament. We also provided additional security for the Senate,” RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki said on March 26.
During a meeting of the House of Commons Public Safety Committee on Thursday, Liberal MP Pam Damoff asked RCMP Deputy Commissioner Michael Duheme if more could be done to protect the safety of elected officials.
Duheme said dealing with these threats can be a “challenge” as some fall short of the threshold of an RCMP investigation.
“When we have a file regarding potential threats, whether online, over the phone or face to face, we reach out to the Attorney General of Canada to discuss the file and see if we have met the threshold for those threats. It’s challenging, I can say from an RCMP perspective,” he said.
The deputy commissioner nevertheless called the Singh incident “unacceptable” and said the RCMP was “following up”.
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