Canada’s former top civil servant says Canadians would be shocked and “dismayed” to learn the true level of abuse and the number of violent threats politicians face during their time in office.
“It’s a very hostile environment to go into public life and we pay a price for that,” former clerk of the Privy Council Michael Wernick told CBC Radio’s The House. “It’s a slide towards a degree of violence in our politics which I think we should resist.”
Wernick said there is a “certain innocence” in Canada when it comes to political violence.
“I think Canadians would be dismayed to know that the people that step up and run for office and serve their country for a period of time are sent videos on how to commit suicide,” he said.
“The most vile kinds of messages are sent to them attacking their gender, their religion, their race and so on.”
The former clerk of the Privy Council talks about the current threat of political violence in Canada. 11:54
Wernick made headlines in early 2019 when he testified before the House of Commons justice committee investigating the SNC-Lavalin controversy. The 40-year civil servant used his prepared remarks to comment on what he called the coarsening of political debate and the risk it poses to the people who run for office.
“I worry about the rising tide of incitements to violence when people use terms like ‘treason’ and ‘traitor’ in open discourse,” Wernick told the committee in February of last year. “Those are the words that lead to assassination. I’m worried that somebody is going to be shot in this country, this year, during the political campaign.”
At the time, many felt Wernick’s comments were alarmist and over-the-top. But now, 17 months later, two men have been charged in separate incidents for allegedly threatening the life of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
WATCH | Michael Wernick warns about the state of political discourse in 2019 testimony
‘I’m here to say to you that the Globe and Mail article contains errors, unfounded speculation and, in some cases, is simply defamatory,’ said Wernick, clerk of the Privy Council. 5:31
Corey Hurren, a Canadian Armed Forces reservist from Manitoba, faces 22 charges for allegedly smashing the security gate at Rideau Hall with his pickup truck and then setting out on foot toward the prime minister’s house, heavily armed. Hurren also has been accused of threatening Trudeau.
“There are serious threats to people in office all the time and it’s important that that be taken seriously,” said Wernick, who during his time in the Privy Council Office (PCO) was briefed regularly on security and threat assessments.
“It’s very frequent. I can’t put numbers to it but I was constantly exposed to it.”
Toxic language in politics a pathway to violence
That exposure started for Wernick during his first month in the PCO as the deputy clerk. That’s when a gunman fatally shot Cpl. Nathan Cirillo while he stood guard at the National War Memorial in Ottawa. The shooter then stormed Parliament Hill, where he was killed in a gun battle in the Hall of Honour as MPs and staff barricaded themselves in meeting rooms and offices.
Wernick was with then-PCO clerk Janice Charette at the time and was evacuated to a safe location.
Police officers inspect the area around the National War Memorial in downtown Ottawa in 2014 after a gunman stormed Parliament Hill. Wernick was evacuated to a safe location during the incident. (Blair Gable/Reuters)
“We spent a very tense afternoon during that incident and I spent a lot of my time as deputy clerk on issues around the safety of the prime minister,” Wernick said.
That work led Wernick to some strong conclusions. He argues that the increasingly toxic language used in politics (amplified by what he’s called “the vomitorium of social media”) is a pathway to violence — an inevitable outcome of the dehumanization and vilification of political opponents.
“Particularly when we’re talking about starting to characterize your opponents more as enemies or even as traitors,” Wernick said. “That’s ground that is just not responsible for people in office or candidates for office.”
Sussex Drive currently not a safe place for families
Wernick retired in April 2019 — in large part due to the fallout from the SNC-Lavalin controversy. As such, he no longer has access to security briefings. So while he doesn’t know more than anyone else about the recent attack at Rideau Hall, he said it laid bare the security weaknesses that exist in Canada’s official residences.
Wernick said that 24 Sussex Drive — the official yet uninhabited residence of the prime minister — would need significant security upgrades in addition to long overdue maintenance to make it safe for a prime minister with children.
“Frankly, it’s never going to be a safe place for somebody [with] a family to live, unless some very, very expensive upgrades are put into those premises,” he said.
Trudeau and his family split their time between Rideau Cottage and the PM’s summer residence at Harrington Lake. After decades of neglect, the projected cost of making 24 Sussex habitable is high, even before the security upgrades Wernick is calling for are taken into account.
A report by the National Capital Commission released in 2018 said it’ll cost approximately $83 million to restore and maintain Canada’s official residences, including 24 Sussex Drive. (Tom Hanson/Canadian Press)
The politics of spending large sums of public money on official residences has long stood in the way of those repairs. Wernick said the country needs to take politics out of those decisions.
“I think we have to be honest about the costs of personal protection for the prime minister and cabinet ministers and not subject it to the small politics of, ‘Well, how could you spend so much money upgrading your residence’ in an age of drones and sniper rifles and car bombs,” Wernick said.
“We need to provide safe places for people who are obviously public targets to live in. And so, let’s have an honest conversation about what it would actually cost to keep people safe while they’re serving us.”
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
