Safety of elected officials | “We must prevent what could happen”

The Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, asks to review the protection of elected officials in the face of the multiplication of online threats and violent incidents against them.

Joël-Denis Bellavance
Press

Melanie Marquis
Press

(Ottawa) The safety of elected officials is a concern. The increase in online threats and violent incidents, especially in the United Kingdom, where a Conservative MP was assassinated a month ago, must lead to a thorough examination of the protection measures offered to elected officials, which they are working on. the municipal, provincial or federal scene.

Influential member of the Trudeau government, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, worries aloud to see the increasing threats on social networks against elected officials . Ultimately, this scourge risks dissuading talented people from running for office if nothing is done. The vitality of democratic institutions could suffer.

“We have a reflection to do. We must learn from what we have seen and prevent what could happen, ”said Minister Champagne bluntly in an interview with Press.

Mr. Champagne did not want to say whether he himself had been the target of threats in recent months, as have been some of his colleagues on the federal scene. But he said he has developed the reflex, in recent years, to observe the environment in which he is located as a precaution.

That said, Mr. Champagne becomes one of the first elected federal officials to launch such a cry from the heart on the importance of ensuring adequate security to those who receive a democratic mandate from the voters.

In Quebec, several mayors have decided to put an end to their political career because of the violent comments and insults they were the target of on social networks. We must prevent this from becoming a major trend, especially since we must not exclude “an escalation of certain behaviors that pass from social networks into the real world”.

“We must preserve our democratic institutions. This applies to elected federal officials as well as to provincial and municipal officials. The stake is the safety of elected officials to preserve public discourse. In a democracy, there is an exchange of ideas, there are people who can agree or disagree with what elected officials put forward. I believe that it is important to have a security framework because if we want to attract more people into politics, we must allow each and every one to feel capable of fully exercising their democratic functions without having to fear for their own. security. ”

Repeated incidents

During the last federal campaign, Justin Trudeau was repeatedly attacked by anti-vaccine protesters during rallies in Ontario. Some went so far as to throw stones at him as he returned to the campaign bus, covering him with insults.

Last year, the House of Commons decided to strengthen the security of elected officials following an increase in the number of threatening incidents. Members who wish can now have surveillance cameras installed in their homes, or obtain police protection, if necessary. All Members are also given a mobile personal alarm which, once activated, can alert a third party monitoring center.

But additional measures should be considered for ministers, who often take center stage in politics because of their office.

Federal ministers have already feared for their safety. We only have to think of Catherine McKenna, who was insulted – “Fuck you, climate barbie” – and followed by an individual as she went to the movies with her children in downtown Ottawa, in 2019.

She had to resign herself to asking for safe supervision. “The problem was, I was with my kids. It’s one thing when it happens on social networks, it’s another when I’m with my children, ”she explained to Press a few months after the fact.

The former Minister of the Environment, whose constituency office was also vandalized after the 2019 elections, preferred not to return to the subject since she is “no longer a minister and [se] focus on action on climate change, ”she said.

Before her, Maryam Monsef was also subject to tighter protection. In 2016, when she was Minister of Democratic Institutions, the local Peterborough newspaper spotted her with RCMP officers around her.

The Quebec model, an example?

On the other hill, in Quebec, all the ministers and all the opposition leaders benefit from the protection of a bodyguard from the Department of Public Security at all times.

These agents should never stray too far from their protege, no matter where he is – whether in the nation’s capital, in his constituency or on any other trip.

The premier of Quebec, meanwhile, is guarded by officers of the Sûreté du Québec (SQ). In Ottawa, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers escort the Prime Minister of Canada. The leaders of the opposition parties are not entitled to such security measures.

The Legault government did not want to say more about the security issue or make a minister available for an interview.

According to Minister François-Philippe Champagne, the Quebec model should be considered in Ottawa. Especially since the ministers of the federal government obtain “minimalist” security services when they are in the federal capital. Outside of Ottawa, they have to rely on an assistant to get around or even drive their vehicle.

During a recent press conference in Estrie in the company of two ministers from the Legault government, Pierre Fitzgibbon and Christian Dubé, Mr. Champagne was the only one of the three to make his own way to the scene. On the spot, it was the bodyguards of his provincial colleagues who contacted him to tell him the safest access to the event, where there were some demonstrators.

Under the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Regulations, federal police officers are required to protect federal ministers, but “based on the RCMP’s assessment of the threat or risk to the security of the person. “.