HINSHAW FACED THREATS
Security bill almost $100,000
The Alberta government spent nearly $100,000 on private security for Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province's chief medical officer of health, after anti-lockdown protests heated up during the third wave.
The figures, disclosed under Alberta's rules for sole-source contracts, show that Price Langevin & Associates, a private security firm, was hired between May 25 and July 2 to “provide private security to the Chief Medical Officer of Health.”
No further details about the contract — one valued at $72,000, the other at $22,800 — are given, but threats against politicians and public health officials have been an issue throughout the pandemic, across many jurisdictions, most prominently in the United States.
“Following a threat assessment in May, it was determined that Dr. Hinshaw required security services,” said Amanda Krumins, the assistant communications director with Alberta Health, in an email. “Given the timeline and need to have this in place in a timely manner, the decision was made to contract a private security firm.”
Krumins declined to answer a number of followup questions, including whether or not there was a precipitating incident, whether or not Hinshaw also received protection from Alberta Sheriffs, who guard the premier, and whether or not she is currently receiving protection.
“For security reasons, we cannot share any more information at this time,” Krumins said.
Hinshaw, according to a profile by the University of Alberta, has two children in elementary school.
“My husband is working from home, so he has taken on household chores and the kids, and my mother, who lives with us parttime, has also been an amazing support through all of this,” Hinshaw told Folio in May 2020.
Price Langevin & Associates didn't respond to Postmedia's request for comment, nor did Hinshaw's office. The office of Alberta Premier Jason Kenney declined to comment.
Neil Lemay, a senior security adviser with Global Enterprise Security Risk Management, and the former deputy chief sheriff with Alberta Sheriffs and Security Operations with the government of Alberta, said threat assessments would have looked at threats and assessed their probability or likelihood of actually happening.
“A threat assessment would look at ... the motivation, the capability of the person to carry out that threat,” Lemay said.
Security teams, Lemay said, look for two sorts of people when it comes to assessing threats: hunters and howlers.
“The howlers, they're easy to spot. They're the ones that are standing out in front of the hospitals waving signs and might go back to their computer and make some sort of threat on a tweet or an email chain, or something like that,” Lemay said. “The more dangerous one, of course, is the hunters — those that feel aggrieved by some action of government and they sort of keep a low profile and carry out their deeds.”
Around the one-year mark of the pandemic, the protests and objections to public-health measures increased considerably. When restrictions eased, many who supported more stringent measures also began to blame Hinshaw, accusing her of having blood on her hands, or of being a shill for the United Conservative government.
In mid-april, hundreds of people appeared at the legislature for an anti-lockdown rally.
“Generally, that wouldn't trigger a threat assessment — just a regular, peaceful protest, or a little bit of a rambunctious protest, even — it would have to be something more specific where somebody actually made some sort of threat or to do harm,” Lemay said. “If it's a pretty direct threat, then of course the police can take action, but a lot of these threats are pretty vague.”
At the protests, some people chanted “lock her up” in reference to Hinshaw, and at least one sign promised Hinshaw, Kenney and Health Minister Tyler Shandro that “we are coming for you.” Kenney condemned the people behind the chants, and the statements and actions of “unhinged conspiracy theorists.”
“It's particularly offensive to threaten a committed public servant like Dr. Hinshaw, a consummate professional who has offered the best possible health advice,” Kenney tweeted on April 12. “I call on those responsible to stop the threats & law breaking, which is a disservice to their own cause.”
While the province has not commented on how frequently officials have been targeted, threats and harassment have been reported by other governments since the first few months of the pandemic.
“The present harassment of health officials for proposing or taking steps to protect communities from COVID-19 is extraordinary in its scope and nature, use of social media, and danger to the ongoing pandemic response,” says an August 2020 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
On Wednesday, a day after a new round of restrictions were announced in Alberta, including a vaccine passport system, social media was alight with fears of coming government tyranny, with commenters on some Facebook pages discussing how to overthrow the government.
“This newest `state of emergency' declared by Kenney and Hinshaw is an act of Treason, making these mandates completely invalid,” says a post from Calgary Freedom Central, which bills itself as an independent news page on Facebook.
“It's time to rise up Alberta and take back control of our province (peacefully, as always).”