Death threats. Physical altercations. Protesters at the gates of the constituency office or his own home. The threats against elected officials that have been swarming on social networks for years have now been translated into reality. And they have forced some MPs to change their behavior and their movements, even to improve the security of their homes or outright to move to feel more secure, reveals a survey conducted by The duty to federal parliamentarians.
Almost all of them, more than four out of five of the elected officials consulted, report having been the target of verbal or physical threats. These range from threats to their reputation or career (71%) to threats to their physical integrity (63%). A third of MPs who agreed to respond to our probe (34%) also claim to have received death threats.
This bullying takes the form of emails, phone calls, social media posts. However, it is also done in person.
Nearly half of elected officials (49%) were shouted down and intimidated during a physical altercation with a citizen.
This is the case of Liberal John Aldag, who was arrested while going door to door, in parking lots or at public events. “The Freedom Party shared my home address and encouraged protesters to come to my house. Passers-by had to intervene to ensure my safety,” he confides.
Some of his colleagues also claim to have been intimidated by members of these “convoys”. Cars drove past a Conservative’s home or parked for a long time in front of a Liberal’s constituency office and next to his vehicle. The Parliament’s security service had informed elected officials this winter of this practice of ” doxing – which consists in revealing on the Internet the address or the private information of an individual with the aim of harming him – and had called on them to be careful.
A time bomb
John Aldag is also among those who had to appeal to the authorities to prevent a citizen from contacting them. The MP from British Columbia chose the path of a formal notice, while seven of his colleagues (mainly men, too) had to obtain a contact ban from the police because the threats were so serious. Another reports that a citizen was ordered not to contact him, as part of his bail.
Three-quarters of MPs (73%) have received such worrying threats that they have alerted the police. However, they are much less numerous to have officially lodged a complaint – that is to say half of the respondents.
The duty sent an in-house survey to the 338 federal elected officials who sit in the Commons, in order to take stock of the threats to which they are exposed on the Web and in person as well as the impact they have on their personal lives and their work. Of this number, 68 agreed to respond — that is, 20% of MPs — most of them anonymously. A few Liberals and New Democrats identified themselves, but none of the Conservatives and Bloc members who participated.
The causes cited to explain this ambient resentment vary. But the observation is unanimous: all this cannot go on any longer.
“The end of most health measures in Quebec does not seem to have had any impact on the phenomenon. I fear more and more for my physical safety, ”commented a Bloc Québécois MP, without naming himself. “For me, it is obvious that incidents will occur against elected officials. This anger seems well anchored. »
Protect your home, or move
Although 12 of the survey respondents said they were not subject to such threats, the others reported a social climate that made them fear for their own safety (50%) and that of their family (46%).
“I received threats against my children, against other members of my family and even against my dog,” says New Democrat Heather McPherson, one of the party’s two MPs in Alberta, who is now reluctant to publicly announce her political activities.
A Liberal MP avoids naming her children on the web. A few report having increased security in their homes, using surveillance cameras or other devices. Some confirm having equipped themselves with the “panic button” offered to them since December. The House of Commons refuses to specify how many of these devices, which make it possible to call the authorities in the event of an emergency, have been distributed.
“I wear the panic button. I changed my routines. I no longer walk anywhere alone. I sold my house to move into a safe condo building, “said another elected Liberal, who preferred not to name herself.
I received threats against my children, against other members of my family and even against my dog
“I take different routes when I’m on foot. I no longer express myself so openly and freely,” said a Liberal colleague.
They are almost half to affirm, like him, to have modified their behavior in different ways: by avoiding to approach certain subjects in the Commons (24%) or on the social networks (67%), or even by abstaining from participate in certain public events (39%) — each of the elected officials could choose more than one of these answers.
New Democrat Charlie Angus revealed last month that the Parliamentary Protective Service now advises MPs to assess the risk of the events they are joining and to plan an evacuation plan, if necessary.
Changes, on the Hill and in the ridings
Only 40% of respondents say they want security to be improved on Parliament Hill. Access to it was tightened following the 2014 shootings. However, many would like the perimeter of the parliamentary precinct to be enlarged, that the pedestrianization of Wellington Street following the occupation of the “convoy” become permanent, or that more patrols take place on the sidewalks.
Because on the Hill too, MPs are now taking their own precautions. “Targeted for my support for Bill 21 [sur la laïcité de l’État québécois], I was afraid for a long time to make the journey on the grounds of the parliament”, explains an elected Bloc member. “I avoid taking the usual routes to get there. »
A colleague would like the parliamentary security service to accompany MPs when they leave late at night. A curator calls for “more outside presence between the buildings when the House sits late”.
Many of the respondents also insist that it is in their constituency that they need the most support. For the time being, they are barring the doors of their offices, filtering telephone calls “to protect the employees” and increasing the security measures there too.
The majority of them would like all party leaders to be offered a security service (65%), and almost half would offer the same service to all members of the Council of Ministers (46%), as it is the case in the National Assembly. The House of Commons and the government are currently evaluating these possibilities.
Fears for the public debate
The elected officials, under cover of anonymity, pass the buck on the margins of this social climate.
“I deeply believe that the current environment is directly linked to the behavior and political strategies used by the Conservative Party,” wrote one of them, a Liberal. New Democrat Heather McPherson adds that “some politicians have made this situation worse” – without identifying them.
An anonymous Bloc member argues that fellow MPs – without naming their party either – “certainly do not help” by calling Bloc elected officials “racists as soon as we want to protect our values”.
An anonymous conservative, meanwhile, blames the pandemic, the election of Donald Trump, the “convoy of truckers” and the political shift of Maxime Bernier, who left the conservative family to create his People’s Party of Canada.
A deputy, who does not specify which political formation he is part of, evokes on the other hand the advent of social networks, but also “the election of Justin Trudeau”. “I see a worrying trend of extremist motivations. Although often not reported, it includes extremist tendencies on the political left. »
In the end, the risk is that Canadian elected officials will no longer meet their fellow citizens and interest groups, fears a Liberal who herself saw one of her activities with mayors in her riding threatened with be disturbed by members of one of the “convoys”. “That’s what is likely to happen more and more: intimidation against elected officials as they try to reach out and talk to their constituents. »