It’s not easy to be foreign minister of a G7 country. Between the war in Ukraine, that in the Middle East, the situation in Haiti, the tense relations with China and India, and the possible election of Donald Trump among our neighbors to the South, we also have to endure the harassment of certain individuals in rare moments of private life.
This is what Mélanie Joly experienced this weekend in Montreal. She was questioned in an extremely unpleasant manner by a citizen seeking notoriety. Despite his attempt to get rid of the camera he imposed on him, Mme Joly knew how to keep calm. His gesture was also a defensive reaction to the most despicable behavior.
Archive photo, QMI Agency
Where is the security?
The question that arises is that of the security of our elected officials, in particular those who have political responsibilities. How is it that the minister’s bodyguard did not react promptly to an individual behaving suspiciously? How is it that a minister from a G7 state cannot benefit from better protection? What if this individual had been armed?
The security of our elected officials regularly makes headlines. Indeed, we also saw Chrystia Freeland suffer the same fate a few months ago. Imagine the country’s Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs being harassed by individuals without intervention from the police authorities. You wouldn’t even see this in banana republics.
- Listen to the political meeting with Yasmine Abdelfadel and Marc-André Leclerc via QUB :
The physical integrity of our elected officials should never be taken lightly. They are already experiencing numerous inconveniences regarding their quality of life, respect for their private lives, and are victims of an unimaginable number of insults on social networks.
Democracy
In a democracy, we can deeply disagree with government decisions. We can freely manifest and express our ideas, our anger and our frustration. However, freedom of expression and the exercise of this democracy should never compromise the feeling of security of our elected officials and their effective protection.