Quebec politician closes riding office indefinitely because of threats to safety

MONTREAL — A Quebec politician has closed her riding office in the lower Laurentians region indefinitely because she fears for her safety and the safety of her employees, the longtime Coalition Avenir Québec member said Tuesday.

Sylvie D’Amours said that for years, she and her team have been victims of threats and mischief, adding that most recently “projectiles” were fired through her riding office windows. Police said the damage came from a pellet gun.

“Unfortunately, my team and I have been experiencing unfortunate incidents such as threats and misdeeds for several years, like many elected officials in Quebec,” D’Amours said Tuesday. “You will understand that I cannot accept this situation: the doors of my office have always been wide open for everyone, but right now, I want to protect us,” she said about her staff.

Insp. Jean-Philippe Labbé with the police force in Deux-Montagnes, Que., northwest of Montreal, said officers were alerted on the morning of Oct. 11 when office staff noticed damage to a window from a pellet gun. Labbé said it’s the only incident at that office reported thus far to police.

There has been a notable rise in vulgarity and other types of harassment online against Quebec politicians in recent years. In a lengthy Facebook post on Tuesday, D’Amours suggested the government’s plan to update flood zone maps may be tied to damage to her riding office.

She later told reporters in Quebec City the incident could be in relation to other hot button issues in her riding.

“Everyone was scared,” D’Amours told reporters about what happened at her office.

In the Facebook post, the representative for the Mirabel riding says communities like hers are working off outdated flood maps and that climate change has increased flooding risks across the province.

D’Amours said that a lot of misinformation is circulating online about the government’s plans, and she called on residents to be respectful and not to give in to panic. The environment minister introduced consultations in June on the issue.

Quebecers are worried that their properties will be included in the new flood maps, making it more difficult to obtain insurance and leading to other financial headaches.

“We are working with completely outdated mapping and it must be modernized — in some places, the maps are more than 30 years old,” D’Amours said in the Facebook post, adding that climate change is leading to increasingly intense and variable weather events.

She noted that flooding has had serious impacts in her riding as well as in the rest of the province. During flooding in 2017 and 2019, some 14,000 people were forced from 500 municipalities, at a cost of more than $1 billion to the province.

“We must review the way we build and think about the territory,” she said. “The goal is not to relocate residents and citizens from flood zones, but to increase their safety and protect their property while protecting the environment.”

Earlier this year, Quebec’s legislature adopted a law that included fines of up to $1,500 for anyone who intimidates or harasses a politician to offset a spike in resignations of elected officials, notably at the municipal level.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 29, 2024.

Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press