Parliamentarians receive panic buttons to increase their personal security in response to threats and growing concerns about harassment of parliamentarians.
In an interview, Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino revealed that he has been the subject of death threats on social media in recent weeks after introducing a bill to curb gun ownership.
Mendicino said he, the police and the Parliamentary Protection Service are re-evaluating the security of parliamentarians after a series of intimidating threats and incidents.
This includes verbal harassment of NPD leader Jagmeet Singh during a visit to the Ontario election campaign last month.
A video shows that when Singh left a campaign office, he came across protesters who could be heard shouting insults at him and calling him a “traitor.”
Singh said the experience in Peterborough, Ontario was one of the worst incidents of aggressive behavior in his political career.
A video posted on social media shows protesters shouting at NPD leader Jagmeet Singh and following him to a vehicle after a campaign event in Peterborough, Ont. (Freedom through unity – Peterborough / Kawartha / Facebook)
Measures being implemented to increase the protection of parliamentarians include panic buttons or “mobile coercion alarms”. Deputies can take them to immediately alert the Parliamentary Protection Service or the local police for a quick response.
In a presentation to Liberal MPs on the new security measures, the arms sergeant strongly recommended that they have panic buttons with them “at all times”.
The device can be used across Canada, even in MPs’ home constituencies, the presentation said.
The Sergeant-at-Arms, who is in charge of House of Commons security, provides training to lawmakers and staff on how to escalate potentially violent situations.
Increased number of threats
Parliament also offers parliamentarians security assessments of offices and homes in its constituency and says it can install alarms, panic buttons, cameras and other security measures as needed.
Mendicino said it was part of his mandate to “ensure that all parliamentarians have the security they need.”
He said he was working closely with law enforcement, the arms sergeant, the Parliamentary Protection Service and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc to “constantly” reassess “the risk to parliamentarians.”
The security assessment follows a series of threats to lawmakers and incidents over the past year. In a campaign event during the last election, a handful of gravel was thrown at Liberal leader Justin Trudeau outside a political rally.
Mendicino said he received several death threats on Instagram after presenting a bill to Parliament last month to introduce gun controls to prevent armed violence.
Posts in an account titled “Elite Terrorist” include: “Someone will shoot you to death” and another death threat that contains a derogatory term for a person of Italian descent.
“Threats, including death threats, have no place in this debate,” Mendicino said. “It’s really important that we can have strong debates about this, but make sure that these debates are kept civil and free from any kind of threats, intimidation and outright criminal behavior that we’re seeing more and more online.” .
He said those who threaten and intimidate must be held accountable to avoid a horrific effect on freedom of expression, which would be “a threat to our democracy.”
“Obviously, we will continue to mark these criminal posts on the platforms,” he said, adding that the authors of these posts should suffer serious consequences, such as being kicked out of the platforms.
Instagram was not immediately available for comment.