Wynne upset over protesters at her home

Police hazmat team investigated ‘suspicious’ items found on her property

An attempt to draw Ontario’s premier into a dialogue using wine and cheese drew the ire of Kathleen Wynne, after Black Lives Matter demonstrators showed up at her North Toronto home.

Speaking to reporters in Ottawa on Friday, Wynne said she and spouse Jane Rounthwaite were rattled by the Black Lives Matter protest at their home.

“It unnerved my partner this morning, for sure. But having said that, I understand the concerns in the community. I would like for the protests to happen other places than my home,” said Wynne, who was not in town at the time. “And you know, quite frankly, it’s not just about my home. It’s about the neighbours as well. It’s about people on the street who didn’t choose to put their name on a ballot, who don’t necessarily feel comfortable,” she said.

A police hazmat team was called to Wynne’s home Friday morning after “suspicious” items were found outside the house. Police said there was no threat to public safety, but they were “erring on the side of caution” after finding items that included a bottle of “suspicious” liquid.

“The only thing that we left at the house that I feel could be of investigation is the cheese that we left for her. If she’s lactose intolerant that might be uncomfortable,” Black Lives Matter Toronto co-founder Alexandria Williams told the Star.

She was one of those present at Wynne’s house. Along with cheese and crackers, the demonstrators left white roses and a tent, Williams said.

“We haven’t really heard anything from Kathleen so we figured it’s probably because she didn’t receive an invitation, the type of invitation that comes with being a representative of the province,” Williams told the Star. “It’s Kathleen Wynne. You have to sort of get fancy.”

Mayor John Tory called the demonstrators’ actions “entirely inappropriate.” Tory made the comments after Black Lives Matter members took their protest to City Hall, where council voted unanimously to request a provincial review of the Special Investigations Unit.

Wynne, who recently launched Ontario’s anti-racism directorate, stressed “there is a very serious concern among people about issues surrounding race.”

“The reason that we have acted as firmly and as quickly as we did on the street check policy is that we believe that that policy needs to be changed. We believe that those random stops for no reason need to be banned. And that’s what our policy will do,” she said, referring to the police practice also known as carding.

Black Lives Matter demonstrators have been staging a sit-in protest at Toronto police headquarters since March 20, when the SIU decided not to charge the unnamed officer who shot and killed 45-year-old Andrew Loku last year. With files from Rob Benzie, Sarah-Joyce Battersby, Jennifer Pagliaro and Ramisha Farooq

“The only thing that we left at the house that I feel could be of investigation is the cheese that we left for her.” ALEXANDRIA WILLIAMS CO-FOUNDER, BLACK LIVES MATTER TORONTO