NOBODY SAID DEMOCRACY WAS PRETTY

Democracy can be ugly and even dangerous at times. The principle that everyone has a say in the running of their government is usually a good and necessary thing, but when rational behaviour sinks and tempers rise, the hard-earned institution of democracy can be a threatening place.

Lately, we’ve had the yellow vests in France do what the French often do: stage noisy and violent demonstrations on the streets of Paris. No one lost their heads this time, but the president of France has tried to compromise on a host of taxation measures, to little effect.

In Canada, we’ve had our share of pipeline protests and rallies. For the most part, they’ve been peaceful and respectful, with only a handful of arrests, clever signs and rude comments thrown at speakers. We’re not sure if they achieve anything substantial, but it’s all good, clean fun, and so far no one has lost an eye.

However, what’s become more disturbing is the fear of a threat of violence.

The Alberta government recently cancelled a series of meetings over the otherwise laudable proposal to the turn the stunning Bighorn area into a provincial park.

The NDP’s environment minister, Shannon Phillips, said it was in response to harassment and social media threats toward those participating.

Security officials had apparently recommended the sudden end of public consultation.

There’s no doubt that social media has dark corners of hate and bile. There’s no doubt that public meetings can get heated.

But those making the threats should be shut down, rather than public exchanges between well-behaved constituents and their government.

The threat-makers should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. If meetings really are threatened, then appropriate security measures must be taken.

We cannot run scared of the faceless, nameless and cowardly hate mongers. Although democracy itself will survive this kind of ugliness, there’s no hope for future face-to-face events if governments cower from nasty comments around something as ordinarily low key as the formation of a recreation area.

However, in light of the minister’s confused explanation for the threats, we also wonder how serious these incidents are. RCMP officers interviewed by Postmedia’s Licia Corbella have seen no risks as outlined by the government and they have no open investigations.

Phillips later admitted she “misspoke” about any RCMP involvement.

Further investigation by Postmedia has determined that government staffers lodged seven harassment complaints after public meetings on the proposed park. Two complaints were considered “serious,” but we have no further details on their nature. We also can’t independently verify the complaints.

Meanwhile, caught in the crossfire, residents near the Bighorn area are baffled that they are being tarred as Twitter terrorists.

The political cynic in us wonders if the NDP, facing some unexpected backlash in what should be good news about a proposed park, suddenly decided to pull the plug on contentious meetings fired up by United Conservative Party members.

That kind of brush-fire controversy is the last thing the governing party, trailing its rival in the polls, wants in the lead up to what’s looking like a lost-cause spring election.

The silencing of public meetings, however, has raised even more negative attention, with the UCP smelling blood in the water and many voters wondering about the credibility of the minister.

Democracy may be ugly at times, but it’s also complicated, manipulated and unforgiving. And we couldn’t have it any other way.