Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday urged Canada’s political leaders to forcefully condemn acts of aggression and intimidation directed against politicians — before the country is forced to “rethink” the ways in which elected officials and the public can safely interact.
“We need to be able to have that connection that we’ve always prided ourselves [on], of Canadians being able to have proximity to those who represent them,” Trudeau told reporters outside Rideau Hall.
“But the aggressive bullying, hate-filled tactics of a small number of people is causing us to have to rethink the freedoms that we’ve had as parliamentarians.”
Trudeau’s comments come just days after Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was verbally accosted during a stop at the city hall in Grande Prairie, Alta., over the weekend.
Video of the incident shows a man following Freeland as she entered an elevator while calling her a “traitor” and a “f—ing bitch” and telling her to leave the province.
Freeland has called the actions of the man who confronted her “wrong” but has also pointed out repeatedly that her tour of Alberta has otherwise gone smoothly.
“One unpleasant incident does not in any way overshadow the warmth of the welcome that I have received,” Freeland said Wednesday morning in Calgary.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney called the incident “reprehensible.” The RCMP says it will investigate.
WATCH: Trudeau responds to the incident involving Chrystia Freeland
Trudeau reacts to video of aggressive incident involving Deputy Prime Minister Freeland and Alberta man
9 hours ago
Duration 3:07
After the video surfaced online of a man cursing at Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there is no space for hate in Canada’s democracy.
Trudeau said episodes of aggression against politicians will become more common if political leaders remain silent or — worse — stoke the animosity driving these encounters.
“The tone of our democracy, the tone of our political debates, is set by those politicians who get sent to Ottawa to represent their communities,” he said.
“That’s something all parliamentarians and all leaders need to stand against … to say, ‘No, we are not going to become that toxic, polarized country that some think we should become.'”
Women and people of colour in particular will be discouraged from entering public service if intimidating confrontations become the new normal, the prime minister warned.
“I think we need to be especially clear that people who are members of a visible minority and women are perhaps particularly vulnerable,” Freeland said at her news conference in Calgary. She noted that most politicians and journalists in Canada do not have access to the level of protection and security offered to cabinet ministers.
Helena Jaczek, who was introduced as the new minister of procurement on Wednesday, spoke after Trudeau and said she experienced heightened “verbal abuse and somewhat intimidating behaviour” during last year’s election.
“If this behaviour is accepted as the norm, then we are going to be in a position that’s far graver than we’re in now,” added Filomena Tassi, who swapped roles with Jaczek as part of a minor cabinet shuffle.
WATCH: Alberta man accosts Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland
Alberta man hurls profanity at Chrystia Freeland, sparking social media outrage
3 days ago
Duration 2:32
In a video circulating widely on social media, several people are seen approaching Freeland as she walks through Grande Prairie’s city hall toward an elevator.
Encounters like the one Freeland experienced in Alberta are happening more frequently, according to Canada’s chief intelligence service.
A 2020 report by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, obtained by CBC News through an access to information request, reported that “political figures in Canada are facing threats of violence and online abuse with increasing regularity.”
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh endured an episode of verbal harassment in May during a campaign stop in Peterborough, Ont. during the Ontario provincial election.
Protesters outside an NDP campaign office followed Singh to a vehicle, yelling at him and calling him “a f–king piece of s–t.” Singh later said the encounter was among the most troubling experiences of his political career.
Trudeau himself repeatedly encountered aggressive behaviour during the 2021 federal election campaign. A man in London, Ont. threw gravel at the prime minister and a separate campaign rally in Bolton, Ont. was cancelled due to security concerns.
Conservative politicians, including MP Michelle Rempel Garner, also have voiced concerns about increasingly aggressive interactions in public.
“This last campaign, for me, I have never felt so unsafe,” Rempel Garner told CBC News last year.
Trudeau considers security changes
Despite growing concerns about threats against politicians, Trudeau did not confirm any plans to enhance security measures for parliamentarians or offer full-time personal security for cabinet ministers.
“We’re considering various solutions,” Trudeau said in French in reply to a question about possible changes.
Earlier this summer, the federal government started providing mobile “panic buttons” to MPs, which can be used to immediately alert the Parliamentary Protective Service or local police for a rapid response.
Tassi said she would rather see the federal government find ways to address acts of intimidation and aggression directly before it considers adding more security and increasing the distance between politicians and the public.
“That’s not the answer,” Tassi said. “The answer is this behaviour has to be ended.”
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.
