House of Commons gun sergeant says he was “surprised” at how Ottawa police allowed harassment of members of parliament and staff to continue during protests against COVID-19 restrictions in the capital at the beginning of the year.
Patrick McDonell, who works closely with the head of the Parliamentary Protection Service, told a House committee on Tuesday that lawmakers and their employees face harassment almost every day on Wellington Street in downtown Ottawa, which is under the jurisdiction of the local police.
McDonell’s statements come as lawmakers receive panic buttons to increase their personal security in response to threats and growing concerns about harassment by politicians.
Deputies are adapting to the idea of wearing panic buttons amid growing threats
The House Procedure and Affairs Committee is considering whether to extend federal jurisdiction for the security of the enclosure around Parliament Hill to include parts of Wellington Street, where vehicles were parked for three weeks during the ” Freedom Convoy, ”and Sparks Street, which includes a pedestrian. pull.
McDonell said there was a “remote viewing” police car of the events he was describing and that incidents were reported to Ottawa police “every day.”
A person would block some employees ’cars when they arrived at a nearby parking lot, and if the employee was a woman, the individual would“ block their car ”before moving away, he said.
An employee was approached by a man who tried to throw at her what looked like a bag of human feces before another employee arrived and pushed the man to the ground, McDonell added.
When Ottawa Chief of Police Steve Bell appeared before the committee in May, he was asked about how many incidents of harassment of MPs and staff he was aware of during the blockades.
Bell said he did not have this information immediately available and suggested that the question might be more appropriate for RCMP Deputy Commissioner Michael Duheme, “who would be responsible for the initial response to these incidents.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday that there was “a significant amount of anger and frustration” directed at the government and officials.
“We need to make sure that anyone who takes a step to serve their community at any political level is safe and that is what we take very seriously,” Trudeau said.
Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino said after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday that he believes there are many factors at play that have made a panic button beneficial for MPs, such as the increase in extremist expression online that “clearly crosses the Rubicon in criminal content where people receive death threats.”
In an earlier interview, Mendicino revealed that he has been the subject of death threats on social media in recent weeks after introducing a bill that would curb gun ownership.
Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, said after the cabinet meeting that since last summer there has been a growing concern for security at MPs ‘residences and more protests at MPs’ offices.
Bennett also referred to last year’s federal election, where at a campaign event a handful of gravel was thrown at Trudeau outside a political rally.
“People are running their anger in a way I don’t think we’ve seen before,” he said.
This story was produced with the financial assistance of Meta and the Canadian Press News Fellowship.
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