For some time, elected officials have not had it easy in Quebec. Whether at the municipal, provincial or federal level, some face hate messages, bullying and even death threats.
In an attempt to remedy the situation, the Union des Municipalités du Québec (UMQ) recently launched a campaign to put an end to the intimidation and aggression of certain citizens towards elected officials. Who will want to run for politics if the situation continues.
The intimidation and aggression towards elected officials is not new. Patrick Bousez, mayor of Rivière-Beaudette and prefect of the Vaudreuil-Soulanges RCM explains that during his first steps in municipal politics, that it was common for assemblies to take place in the presence of the police.
«In 2008, there was a police presence at each assembly in Rivière-Beaudette, confirms Mr. Bousez. Many citizens attended the meetings. Whenever they didn’t like something, they would let us know. Threats would come from all sides. It was intimidating.»
Internet
The emergence of social networks did not help the lives of elected officials. According to Mr. Bousez, people don’t always realize the effect that a post can have
and how it can be viewed. «There are 99% of people who will never do what they write, but we can’t take a chance», concludes Mr. Bousez.
The mayor of Terrasse-Vaudreuil, Michel Bourdeau, has already been the victim of intimidation. Threats even followed him outside City Hall. From hateful messages on the internet to trash that has been dumped on his property, Mr. Bourdeau knows full well what intimidation of elected officials looks like.
«In September 2020, I filed a complaint with the Sûreté du Québec, said the mayor of Terrasse-Vaudreuil. It was not the first time that the individual tried to intimidate me, but on this occasion he went too far. During the assembly he was shouting nonsense at me, he was having fun cutting off council members and in the end he came a few inches away from me to intimidate me.»
Michel Bourdeau confirms that an individual also spent almost a year throwing trash on his property. In fact, he had surveillance cameras installed on his property. «I like politics, says Mr. Bourdeau. However, there are times when I have doubts. Fortunately, these are isolated actions, that it is not the majority of people who do so. Bullying of elected officials drives people out of politics.»
The elected
Women are far from having it easier in politics. The member for Vaudreuil, Marie-Claude Nichols was directly threatened last September by a 34-year-old man. In fact, the individual has been arrested and is formally charged with counseling an offence that is not committed. The individual was threatening to blow up the member’s residence. Obviously, Marie-Claude Nichols feared for her safety and that of her family.
For Mrs. Nichols, the threats made by the accused should be exposed. In an interview with VIVA MÉDIA, Marie-Claude Nichols then confided that she could not ignore this behavior.
The mayor of Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, Danie Deschênes, was not spared by threats and inappropriate words. According to Mrs. Deschênes, people tend to forget that elected officials are above all human.
“Much of the bullying comes from the internet, says Mrs. Deschênes. For some time now, I’ve noticed that other users have stepped in and told the person who wrote the inappropriate comment that this kind of talk is unacceptable.”
Danie Deschênes confirms that she has already received sexist comments. “You end up making a shell and it’s often the same people who make those kinds of comments. Actually, I have already been told that I should go back to my cauldrons rather than play politics.”
What the law says
The chief prosecutor of western Quebec, Me Pierre-Olivier Gagnon confirms that there is no difference in the level of threats made via social networks and those made in person or by phone.
“It’s the method of investigation that is different, says Me Gagnon. The same goes for what is called cyberbullying, it’s actually stalking, but done through social media. The penalties are determined like all other similar cases, according to the aggravating and mitigating factors present in the evidence. Finally, all these crimes of threats of violence or intimidation must be denounced in a society like ours and must not be tolerated.”
