Saskatoon’s Ward 3 councillor David Kirton has cancelled his meeting with the public that was scheduled for Feb. 11, after receiving a number of phone calls and emails threatening his safety.
On Feb. 4, councillor Kirton tweeted that he would be heading to the Confederation Mall in Saskatoon Feb. 11 for “Coffee with your Councillor”, an opportunity for residents of Ward 3 to sit down and chat about ideas for the city.
On Wednesday, he tweeted again, stating that he has been receiving threatening phone calls and emails so concerning that he was cancelling the event for his own safety.
However, this is not an isolated incident.
Politicians across Canada are seeing forceful attacks by individuals or groups, particularly of verbal harassment.
Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said she is afraid of increased violence and harassment after a group of individuals verbally harassed Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland in Grande Prairie, Alta., in August.
“There’s a reason I (don’t post where I am), because I don’t want my showing up to something putting the public in danger. I don’t want anyone to see someone go after me in that way,” Gondek said.
In a viral social media video posted, a group of individuals looking to forcefully inform Freeland of their opinions of her work and the federal government found themselves in the lobby of city hall at the same time as her.
A man and his colleagues then rapidly advanced to the deputy prime minister, pursuing her toward an elevator before being escorted out by security.
“We are fearful of speaking out and we do not talk about how fearful we are. That just allows those folks to perpetuate that fear and that’s the thing that’s got to stop,” Gondek said.
Saskatoon is seeing the abuse hit the municipal level in Kirton’s case.
“Among other concerns, I do not want to be responsible for any security concerns that could arise at the mall,” read Kirton’s post. “I regret not being able to chat and hear new ideas.”
An assistant political studies professor at the University of Saskatchewan said that the recent rise in harassment is driving a wedge between politicians and their constituents.
“The impact that this is going to have on democratic accountability is my main concern,” said U of S’s Daniel Westlake.
“There’s not a lot of value to an event that ends up with a lot of harassment and doesn’t allow for an exchange between a politician and their citizens and voters that allows everyone to participate equally and fairly.”
Westlake advised that politicians should be listening to outside security sources when it comes to protecting their safety and making decisions about meeting up with the public.
“I hope people still feel comfortable putting their names forward,” said Westlake, pondering future elections. “That being said, this is just one more of those difficult demands that being a politician or running for office places on people.”
— with files from Global News’ Paula Tran and Irelyne Lavery
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