Shomporko Desk:-OTTAWA – RCMP data show threats made against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet are on the rise in the first half of 2020 compared to 2019 numbers.
From January to July there have been around 130 threat files gathered by the RCMP’s National Division Protective Operations unit, contrasted with 100 made during a similar timeframe the year earlier. There were a total of 215 threats for the entire 2019 year.
This new data goes ahead the impact points of high-profile incidents threatening the security of Trudeau, Governor General Julie Payette, and most recently, Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna.
On July 2, an armed man gained entry onto the grounds of Rideau Hall where Payette and Trudeau’s family have residences. After breaching the front pedestrian gates, he was arrested by RCMP and later charged with 22 criminal offences. According to court documents, he uttered threats against the prime minister.
Neither Payette nor Trudeau and his family were at home during the incident.
A week ago, a man filmed himself walking up to McKenna’s constituency office in Ottawa and yelling obscenities at one of her female office staff. The Ottawa Police Service’s hate crime unit is investigating the issue.
“She didn’t sign up for this, I didn’t sign up for this, no politician signs up for this,” McKenna said, addressing the event on Thursday during a press briefing along the Rideau Canal.
“I think the bigger reflection is how do we stop the hate, how do we stop the threats, how do we stop the violence, how do we stop this offline and how do we stop this online? I think social media companies have a role to play. They promote lies, they promote hatred.”
This isn’t the first time her office has been the target of a hate crime. McKenna last spoke out about the issue when her office windows were vandalized with a sexist slur after her re-election last October.
“If I knew what I know now about the abuses you have to take, I would certainly have a second thought and that’s what I don’t want. I don’t want women and others to not step into politics because they’re worried about their safety,” she told a group of reporters this on Monday.
The RCMP’s National Protective Operations branch provides security to the prime minister, the governor-general, the ministers of the crown, Supreme Court justices, the diplomatic community, internationally protective persons, and others identified by public safety as requiring protection.
Photo credit: Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
News source: CTV News
