(Ottawa) Federal Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino says all options are on the table to ensure the safety of federal elected officials, following the verbal harassment of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland at the course of the last days.
Posted at 11:59
“We work together with the RCMP, with the Sergeant-at-Arms on the hill, with all the police forces that provide protection for not only [ministres]but even for all the deputies and those who work on the hill”, he said Monday in a press briefing.
Mr. Mendicino was then answering a journalist’s question asking him if Ottawa was considering assigning a bodyguard to each minister, as is the case at the National Assembly.
“The situation is complex [et] severe. We continue to assess all threats and that is why we must remain vigilant,” he added.
In the same breath, he described as “unacceptable” the actions committed against Mr.me Freeland, adding that women and racialized people are disproportionately affected by these types of incidents.
“It’s not just a threat to individuals, their families or their team. It is a threat to our democracy,” insisted the Minister.
In a video relayed on Twitter and captured during a passage of Mme Freeland, Alberta, last Friday, a man is seen approaching threateningly the doors of an elevator in which the Deputy Prime Minister was entering.
We can hear the burly man shouting swear words and insulting the one who is also Minister of Finance, telling her in particular to leave Alberta. A woman also tells him that she “doesn’t belong here”.
The incident, as well as the harassment in general, were immediately denounced by the political class, both by colleagues and opponents.