MPP MacLeod under protection after threats, tampering with tire

Nepean MPP Lisa MacLeod will be under police protection in Ottawa after “threatening emails” and an unexplained “mischievous incident” targeting the minister following her appearance on a local radio program to condemn recent harassment against other local female politicians.

MacLeod appeared on 580 CFRA to speak out against the harassment recently faced by MP Catherine McKenna after a man posted a video to social media spewing vitriol and misogyny at a staffer who answered the door of McKenna’s Catherine Street office.

“This isn’t an isolated incident involving me, my staff members, my family,” McKenna said outside the office Monday. “This happens far too often to far too many people in politics across party lines, we really need to come together and fight it. … We’ve certainly seen an escalation, and it’s not just (involving) me. You see it across party lines.”

On Tuesday, Innes Coun. Laura Dudas revealed that a rock smashed through the window of her home last week while she and her two young children were inside, and her vehicle was broken into in her driveway the same night.

The latest threat faced by MacLeod

was detailed in a statement Wednesday night from Derek Rowland, deputy chief of staff for the minister of heritage, sport, tourism and culture.

“We continue to condemn threats and verbal harassment against politicians, and want to thank the Ontario Provincial Police and Ottawa Police Service for their ongoing measures to ensure her safety,” Rowland said.

“Minister McLeod’s focus remains on a full economic recovery of Ontario’s heritage, sport, tourism and culture industries . ... Currently and for the past seven weeks Minister MacLeod has been travelling the province to reinvigorate consumer confidence in Ontario’s tourism sector following COVID-19.”

MacLeod was also the victim of threatening emails and harassment last year that led to criminal charges and a conviction. There is no information to suggest the cases are connected.

Police have yet to confirm whether the latest incident is under criminal investigation. City police directed all questions regarding MacLeod to the OPP.

OPP spokesman Bill Dickson on Thursday declined to comment “on specific allegations made on social media, nor can I comment on issues related to a specific individual.”

Dickson said OPP can confirm “There was apparently an incident in which air had been let out of a tire. There have been no arrests or charges …,” he said.

In a statement Thursday, Dudas said she would not be deterred by the vandalism at her house and voiced her support for both McKenna and MacLeod.

“Acts such as the rock thrown through my living room window, the hateful attack on Minister Catherine McKenna’s constituency office, and the threats made toward Minister Lisa MacLeod, as well as all the other reported and unreported incidents of violence directed at women in public office, absolutely have to end.”

McKenna called the threats to MacLeod “totally unacceptable” in a Twitter post Thursday.

“Standing with Lisa MacLeod and politicians across party lines who face this,” she wrote. “We need better measures to stop the threats and abuse. From more security to holding social media platforms responsible for spreading hate and lies.”

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said in a Twitter post Thursday the recent string of attacks and harassing behaviour “is a disturbing reminder that female leaders in every sector are still subjected far too often to violent, abusive behaviour.

“No woman should have her sense of security threatened in the home, workplace or in public. I stand with my colleagues in denouncing these acts of hate towards women in the political community, and hope to see the perpetrators held fully accountable for their actions.”

MacLeod was reportedly not at home at the time of the incident involving her vehicle.

In a social media post Wednesday, MacLeod wrote that she was “shocked to learn this morning the air on one of my tires was deflated in my driveway.

“Trying to remind myself this is NOT normal but man, this has become my norm,” she wrote.

With files from Gary Dimmock. ahelmer@postmedia.com

This happens far too often to far too many people in politics across party lines …