Security in Parliament strengthened

The security of Parliament in Ottawa will be tightened after a series of incidents involving a man adhering to various conspiracy theories who attempted to carry out “citizen arrests” of NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and Radio-Canada journalist Daniel Thibeault.

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“Following recent incidents in which parliamentarians and members of the press have been harassed, the Service has increased its presence and visibility in the parliamentary precinct. The parliamentary community can be assured that in addition to our increased posture and oversight, we are ready to respond to their calls for support or help at any time, ”the service explained in an email to QMI Agency. .

Last Friday, the man in question was seen in a video posted to the Facebook group The Canadian Revolution, a group of conspiracy theories supporters, following NDP leader Jagmeet Singh outside around Parliament.

At the end of the video, the man told her that they would “do a dance” the next time they pass each other. In this case, he gave the politician “another chance” to “explain himself”.

The day before, it was the journalist Daniel Thibeault of Radio-Canada who had been chased by the same man to the entrance to the offices of Radio-Canada. By his own admission, however, the conspirator had the wrong individual: he was targeting Mario Beaulieu, the member of the Bloc Québécois.

The conspirator tried to grab him by the arm and told him that he was “under arrest”.

These recent incidents, which take place in a context where a certain section of the population seems to be radicalized against the health measures put in place by governments to fight against the spread of COVID-19, have forced the Parliamentary Protection Service to take this decision.