SHERBROOKE, QUE. -- Five days into the Quebec election campaign, incumbent Premier François Legault urged candidates of all political stripes to "be careful" amid recent acts of violence and harassment toward elected officials.
"If you have some fears call the [Sûreté du Québec], discuss with the SQ and I hope the SQ will be able to find solutions where people don't have to stay home," Legault said at a press conference Thursday.
His comments were in response to advice from the SQ, Quebec's provincial police service, for Marwah Rizqy, the incumbent Liberal MNA in Montreal's Saint-Laurent riding, to stay home after receiving death threats from an anonymous caller.
It's one example of the hundreds of reports of threats Quebec police received from elected officials so far in 2022 — a trend that they say is on the rise in recent years.
In 2019, there were 16 complaints from provincial politicians filed with the SQ. So far in 2022, there have already been 221 complaints and last year there were 396.
INCIDENTS TARGETING CAQ, LIBERALS, CONSERVATIVES
It's something Rizqy is all too familiar with. Montreal police arrested a man last week who allegedly made death threats against her life to the point where she said she considered quitting the campaign.
Court records show Claude Delaney, 62, of Sorel-Tracy, Que., was charged with criminal harassment and harassing communications in relation to Rizqy. The alleged offences date back from Sept. 1, 2021 to Aug 25, 2022.
Rizqy, who is eight months pregnant, told reporters Wednesday that the man made threatening phone calls to Montreal police with information about where to find her dead body.
She said she was given police protection for a day, but said it didn't feel like it was enough to keep her mind at ease.
"Today, what I'm asking is simply — can we have more protection for elected officials, especially when we know that there's a real threat out there?" she said Wednesday.
Her office told CTV News Delaney had allegedly previously approached her to offer chauffeur and volunteer services.
“He said to me, 'I am one of your biggest fans, I would like to get involved in your campaign. I am ready to be there 24 hours a day for you, I want to be your driver, accompany you where you are going, at all times,” said Rizqy in an interview in French with La Presse, referring to an alleged August interaction with Delaney.
The party said Rizqy had taken his phone number, but never called him back.
Her Liberal colleague, Enrico Ciccone, also had his office broken into and his computers stolen Tuesday night.
On Thursday, incumbent CAQ candidate Sylvain Lévesque wrote on Twitter that he filed a report with municipal police about a photo of him that was posted online depicting what appeared to be drops of blood.
And on the Quebec Conservative side, Leader Eric Duhaime said his volunteers were threatened while putting up election posters last weekend.
LIBERAL CANDIDATE BLAMES CONSERVATIVE LEADER
Rizqy laid the blame for the highly charged political climate at the feet of Duhaime on Thursday because of his comments last June that it was his party's goal to bring voters' discontent into the Quebec legislature.
Duhaime reacted to her statement during a stop in Montreal and said he was disappointed by her remarks and that his volunteers were also the victims of hateful acts targeting elected officials.
André Durocher, who used to be a police officer with the RCMP and Montreal police, said he believes this election could be a turning point in Quebec and that the province could see more politicians with ramped-up security.
"Zero per cent risk does not exist," Durocher said. "The thing is to mitigate the risk, to diminish it and, of course, this varies on the nature of the event you're attending, the nature of discussions that will take place or based on positions you’ve taken in the past."
Quebec provincial police say they are responsible for the premier's security and that of the party leaders during the election, and that security for opposition parties falls with the Ministry of Public Safety.
"However, we are also attentive and vigilant as to what concerns and surrounds the other parties participating in this election campaign. We invite anyone who may have a particular concern about a security issue to come forward, and each situation will be assessed," the SQ said in a statement to CTV News.
Legault said he was troubled to see the recent incidents targeting politicians.
"That's not the kind of society we want in Quebec and I think everybody has to be careful when they talk publicly and on social media," he said.
With files from The Canadian Press
