鶹ý

Politics

    • Public safety minister considering security options for politicians after Freeland harassment

    Share
    OTTAWA -

    Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says the federal government is looking at its options when it comes to increasing security for politicians, adding the harassment many face represents a threat to democracy. He says that as the security situation becomes “more and more complex,” there’s a need to “bring the temperature down.”

    This comes following a video posted online this weekend of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland being harassed in Alberta. The video shows a man yelling profanities at the minister in the lobby of Grande Prairie, Alta.’s city hall, before she and her staff enter the elevator.

    Mendicino said the harassment and threats faced by politicians are “not a partisan issue.”

    “We are seeing more incidents, particularly involving women, involving racialized Canadians, and involving Indigenous peoples,” he said. “I don't believe that is a coincidence, and we need to be sure that people can contribute, that they can lend their voices to our politics.”

    Politicians from both sides of the aisle were quick to come to Freeland’s defence and denounce the harassment, with many also sharing their own experiences of threatening behaviour.

    Minister of Women and Gender Equality Marci Ien said while she agrees with Mendicino’s comments that the temperature needs to be turned down, it’s been "decidedly high" for women, Indigenous people, and people of colour for a long time.

    “This is real,” Ien said. “This is real. What happened to the deputy prime minister was reprehensible but not surprising.”

    “I was a journalist. I'm a Black woman. And now I'm a politician,” she also said. “And I have to tell you, it was the number one thing that my family was worried about when I ran because as a journalist, the level of threats that I got, as a Black journalist, the level of threats that I got on my life and on the lives of my children, to run for office was not a small decision to make.”

    Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Karina Gould, who was at the news conference with Mendicino and Ien, echoed their statements, and said while she’s grateful to have had the opportunity for added protection when she needed it, she’s “sad that it’s something we need.”

    “We've been very lucky in Canada, and I think we've prided ourselves for many years on the fact that our politicians are generally very accessible,” Gould said. “That’s something that I think we want to maintain. That being said, I think those of us that have been in politics for a number of years now have also seen an increase in disturbing and threatening rhetoric — whether it be online or whether it be in person — we've seen public figures, particularly that are female, that have experienced significant harassment, both as politicians but also as journalists.”

    The video of Freeland has many questioning whether Canadian politicians need an increased security detail. And this is not a new issue — someone threw gravel at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a campaign event during the most recent federal election, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh was verbally harassed by protestors at an Ontario election campaign stop this spring, and MPs who live in the Ottawa-Gatineau region were warned by a top security official for the House of Commons about potential risks during the trucker convoy.

    Former Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Bernadette Jordan told 鶹ý Channel Monday she needed around-the-clock security at her home during some of her time as a cabinet minister.

    She said while many are wondering why Canadian politicians don’t have security details, they should really be asking why they would need them in the first place.

    “It’s really very, very scary to see this kind of attitude, that it's OK to harass someone like that, that it's OK to threaten someone without repercussions,” Jordan said.

    “It makes you wonder: why run for politics? And this is something that really bothers me, because we want really good people to run,” she also said. “It's extremely important that we have people who are dedicated, who want to help their country, who want to help their communities, but then you treat them like this and you wonder why people would do it.”

    IN DEPTH

    Opinion

    opinion

    opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

    When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

    CTVNews.ca Top Stories

    Toronto police have identified the woman who was allegedly killed by a suspected serial killer earlier this month.

    A man who stabbed a senior to death in Vancouver's Biltmore Hotel building in 2020 has been given a conditional sentence for the killing, meaning he will not serve any jail time if he remains on good behaviour in the community.

    More than a month after the murder of Nova Scotia woman Esther Jones, her family continues to grapple with the loss.

    British Columbia billionaire Chip Wilson has put up yet another billboard message to voters, his third post outside his multimillion-dollar mansion in NDP Leader David Eby's own riding.

    A woman from Montreal's South Shore appeared in court on Friday on charges of aggravated assault after allegedly scalding a 10-year-old boy with boiling water more than one week ago.

    Canada

    • More than a month after the murder of Nova Scotia woman Esther Jones, her family continues to grapple with the loss.

    • A man who stabbed a senior to death in Vancouver's Biltmore Hotel building in 2020 has been given a conditional sentence for the killing, meaning he will not serve any jail time if he remains on good behaviour in the community.

    • Two Winnipeggers have been arrested after images and videos were posted online of animals being tortured and killed.

    • Toronto police have identified the woman who was allegedly killed by a suspected serial killer earlier this month.

    • Montreal police have arrested two young adults in connection with the deadly fire in Old Montreal last week that killed a mother and her young daughter.

    World

    Politics

    Health

    Sci-Tech

    Entertainment

    Business

    Lifestyle

    • This weekend marks the fifth anniversary of a large blizzard that paralyzed Manitoba.

    • Two sisters from Ontario travelled to Newfoundland to spend time with their mom after they learned she lost $20,000 to a romance scam.

    • There was an eye-catching mix of rainbows and lightning over Vancouver following a brief downpour this week.

    Sports

    Autos

    • Elon Musk unveils his 'Cybercab' robotaxi

      Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled on Thursday his vision of a 'a fun, exciting future,' an 'age of abundance' full of his company’s self-driving cars without steering wheels, parking lots turned into parks and robots that will walk among the population – that he once again promised would be available within a few years.

    • video

      video

      Dozens of cars were pulled out of the Detroit River in west Windsor on Tuesday, causing many questions for Windsorites.

    Local Spotlight

    There was an eye-catching mix of rainbows and lightning over Vancouver following a brief downpour this week.

    Jeff Warner from Aidie Creek Gardens in the northern Ontario community of Englehart has a passion for growing big pumpkins and his effort is paying off in more ways than one.

    Saskatchewan’s Jessica Campbell has made hockey history, becoming the first ever female assistant coach in the National Hockey League (NHL).

    Have you ever seen videos of hovercrafts online or on TV and thought, 'Wow, I wish I could ride one of those.' One Alberta man did, and then built his own.

    A B.C. couple is getting desperate – and creative – in their search for their missing dog.

    Videos of a meteor streaking across the skies of southern Ontario have surfaced and small bits of the outer space rock may have made it to land, one astronomy professor says.

    A unique form of clouds made an appearance over the skies of Ottawa on Sunday evening.

    Bernie Hicks, known as the ‘Batman of Amherst,’ always wanted to sit in a Batmobile until a kind stranger made it happen.

    Bubi’s Awesome Eats, located on University Ave West took to social media to announce the closure on Friday.

    • More than nine years after her brother was killed during an arrest by Vancouver police officers, Melissa Gray is losing hope that her family will get justice, after the officers involved have once again avoided discipline.

    • For the 24th time this year, according to provincial records, a vehicle has struck an overpass in British Columbia.

    • A drunken man who slowly and deliberately ran into a pedestrian before fleeing the scene is facing a 90-day driving ban and potential criminal charges, Mounties on Vancouver Island say.

    • Cindy Ali, the Toronto mother who was acquitted in the 2011 death of her 16-year-old daughter Cynara after serving more than four years in prison, is suing Toronto police and the city for more than $10 million.

    • A pedestrian is in hospital with serious injuries after a driver struck them with their pickup truck before careening into a residential fence and ending up in a backyard swimming pool.

    • Police are looking for a suspect who allegedly threw a coffee at a woman’s vehicle and then shot at her windshield following some sort of dispute that began at a Tim Hortons in Pickering on Friday morning.

    • Calgary Public Library (CPL) locations will be closing early on Friday following a cyber attack.

    • Calgary police have released the identity of a man shot to death in the community of Forest Lawn on Thursday.

    • Local photographers were amazed by the aurora borealis display in the night sky over Lethbridge on Thursday night.

    • The temporary LaSalle Causeway bridge in Kingston, Ont. will be fully closed on Tuesday to create temporary access for marine traffic, according to Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC).

    • A Manotick business has been left stunned as thieves made off with $90,000 worth of jewelry.

    • The Ottawa Police Service is asking the public for help in identifying a suspect involved in an alleged "possible" attempt to abduct a group of children in the Orleans area last weekend.

    • Montreal police have arrested two young adults in connection with the deadly fire in Old Montreal last week that killed a mother and her young daughter.

    • A woman from Montreal's South Shore appeared in court on Friday on charges of aggravated assault after allegedly scalding a 10-year-old boy with boiling water more than one week ago.

    • WEATHER

      WEATHER

      Sweater weather will be in full force for Montrealers this Thanksgiving, as October showers are forecasted to begin at around 10 p.m. Friday evening kick the long weekend off.

    • Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi is taking legal action against three people he alleges spread inflammatory and libelous allegations about him.

    • For the second day in a row, the province announced on Friday the closure of a daycare in Edmonton.

    • Alberta's police watchdog is investigating an interaction between an Edmonton police officer and a woman after both ended up in the hospital Thursday.

    • More than a month after the murder of Nova Scotia woman Esther Jones, her family continues to grapple with the loss.

    • It's not the most auspicious Thanksgiving weather for the Maritimes as a series of low pressure systems and weather fronts move through the region bringing inclement weather.

    • One of Halifax’s 16 mayoral candidates, Andrew Goodsell, is pushing for voting access for people experiencing homelessness, like him.

    • Two Winnipeggers have been arrested after images and videos were posted online of animals being tortured and killed.

    • A 37-year-old Winnipeg man has been charged with multiple offences after videos filmed in a public pool change room were seized by police.

    • Thanksgiving shoppers will have something to be thankful for this year.

    • There is a lot on the line in Saturday’s matchup between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and BC Lions as a Rider win will secure them a home playoff game.

    • Regina will vote for a new mayor, city council and public and separate school board trustees on Nov. 13.

    • The leaders of Saskatchewan’s two major political parties are sharing their plans to tackle the growing homelessness crisis.

    • Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest has officially begun! Here's what happened during Friday's big Bavarian celebration at Willkommen Platz.

    • Five weeks into the new school year and parents of children in the Waterloo Region District School Board are already raising concerns about classroom shuffling and a supposed lack of support staff.

    • Kitchener, Ont. native Steven Lorentz scored his first goal for the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night.

    • The leaders of Saskatchewan’s two major political parties are sharing their plans to tackle the growing homelessness crisis.

    • The Saskatchewan New Democratic Party laid out its platform on Friday, ahead of the Oct. 28 provincial election.

    • A Prince Albert woman has developed an app that allows people to lend and borrow items from each other.

    • Two sisters from Ontario travelled to Newfoundland to spend time with their mom after they learned she lost $20,000 to a romance scam.

    • An Ontario man said he feels 'devastated' after learning his identity was stolen to take out two fraudulent loans under his name.

    • Glenn Thompson packs his E-bike to make the short trip back to the room he’s renting. Just a few short weeks ago, he was living in a tent.

    • Striking union workers at Western University have voted in favour of their new contract.

    • Around 3:45 a.m. on Thursday, police said two men forced their way into a home in the area of Ashley Crescent and Ashley Place where the homeowner woke up to the commotion.

    • Grey Bruce OPP have charged a 63-year-old driver from Toronto for failing to stop for a school bus after a student was struck by a passing vehicle while boarding a bus Friday morning in West Grey Township.

    • Police say the victim of an armed robbery shooting at a gas station has since died of his injuries, and the suspect remains at large.

    • A family of six has lost all their personal belongings after their house was destroyed by an explosion on the eve of the Thanksgiving Day long weekend.

    • Provincial police remind motorists about the importance of buckling up after an officer discovered a passenger sitting on a kitchen chair inside the vehicle during a traffic stop in the Town of the Blue Mountains.

    • A Windsor man testified in his careless driving trial in a Chatham-Kent courtroom on Friday.

    • A University of Windsor board member is calling for a pause on controversial agreements made with pro-Palestinian protesters who occupied part of the campus earlier this year.

    • Windsor residents are reacting to the proposed involuntary treatment for mental health and drug addiction.

    • B.C. Conservatives Leader John Rustad says it will be up to voters to judge his party's candidates as he stood by a pair whose remarks on Indigenous and Muslim people drew condemnation from election rivals and other critics.

    • Homicide investigators have searched a home and a business in connection with a fatal assault earlier this week on northern Vancouver Island.

    • In a rare occurrence, a bona fide great white shark washed up on a B.C. beach Thursday.

    • Dave Lindsey began growing giant pumpkins to bring a bit of magic to his grandkids' Halloween.

    • A U.S. District Court judge in Montana has sentenced a 27-year-old man from Kelowna, B.C., to 18 months in prison for using fake names to buy guns with the aim of selling them in Canada.

    • Nearly two years after a man was stabbed to death in downtown Kelowna, RCMP have made an arrest in the case.

    • Local photographers were amazed by the aurora borealis display in the night sky over Lethbridge on Thursday night.

    • Lethbridge- The latest monthly report from the Alberta Real Estate Association shows Lethbridge has seen one of the biggest year over year increases in home prices.

    • The Interfaith Food Bank is busy preparing Thanksgiving bundles and has some tips for anyone hoping to cut down on their holiday dinner costs.

    • A closer look at preventing graffiti will be looked at in Sault Ste. Marie, after a string of offensive displays by one man, including spray painting anti-Indigenous language and painting over the pride crosswalk.

    • Even on an average day, the intersection of Highway 17 at Highway 6 near Espanola is busy, but it’s especially steady on a Friday before a long weekend.

    • A 34-year-old in Sault Ste. Marie who was wanted for a probation violation was found this week with a switchblade, drugs, a digital scale and $5,170 in cash.

    N.L.

    Stay Connected
    Follow 鶹ý