Ottawa –
MEPs are receiving panic buttons to boost their personal security after a series of threats and growing concerns about harassment of parliamentarians.
In an interview, Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino revealed that he has been the target of death threats on social media in recent weeks after presenting a bill to limit gun ownership.
Mendicino said he, police and parliamentary protection services are re-evaluating lawmakers’ security after a series of threats and threatening incidents.
This includes verbal harassment of NDP leader Jagmit Singh during a campaign visit to Ontario last month.
Video shows Singh encountering protesters as he left the campaign office, who could be heard shouting curses at him and calling him a “traitor” as he entered a vehicle. Singh said the experience in Peterborough, Ont., Was one of the worst cases of aggressive behavior in his political career.
Measures in place to boost MPs’ protection include panic buttons or “mobile coercive alarms” they can carry to immediately alert parliamentary protection services or local police to react quickly if threatened. .
The military sergeant, in a presentation to Liberal MPs on the new security measures, strongly recommended that they keep the panic button with them “at all times”.
The device can be used throughout Canada, including in their constituencies, the presentation said.
The military sergeant in charge of the security of the House of Commons offers training to MPs and officials on how to de-escalate situations of potential violence.
Parliament also offers MEPs the opportunity to assess security in their offices and homes, as well as to install alarms, panic buttons, cameras and other security measures if necessary.
The public security minister said it was part of his mandate to “ensure that all parliamentarians have the security they need”.
He said lawmakers were receiving the support they needed and was working closely with law enforcement, sergeants and parliamentary defense services, along with Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominique LeBlanc, to “continuously reassess the risk to parliamentarians”.
The security assessment follows a number of threats to MPs and incidents over the past year. During the election campaign, a handful of gravel was thrown at Liberal leader Justin Trudeau before a political rally.
Mendicino says he received a number of death threats on Instagram after submitting a bill to parliament last month that introduced gun control to prevent gun violence.
Publications from an account entitled “elite terrorist” include: “Someone will shoot you to death” and another death threat containing a derogatory term for a person of Italian descent.
“Threats, including death threats, have no place in this debate,” Mendicino said.
“It is really important to be able to have vigorous debates on this issue, but to make sure that these debates are conducted in a way that is civil and free of any threats, intimidation and outright criminal behavior that we see more and more often. online. “
He said that people who try to threaten and intimidate must be held accountable or that this could lead to a freezing of freedom of speech, “and this is a threat to our democracy.”
“Obviously, we will continue to mark these criminal publications on the platforms,” he added, adding that they should not simply be removed, but should suffer serious consequences, such as expulsion from the platforms.
Instagram was not immediately available for comment.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on June 20, 2022.
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