Our democracy plagued by rage

It was supposed to be a peaceful summer evening on Bass Lake in northern Ontario.

- STEPHEN BEDE SCHARPER

NDP MP Charlie Angus noted that since the so-called "Freedom Convoy" in 2022, death threats against him have skyrocketed.

Charlie Angus, NDP MP for Timmins—James Bay, was on its shores and about to go swimming at his “sacred space” when he was confronted by an ill-boding figure.

In a Facebook post written later, Angus wrote that, in this setting, there appeared to be no witnesses, no cameras, making him a clear and vulnerable target. Hurling insults and radiating hate, the angry figure sat on a picnic bench as Angus proceeded with his evening swim. When he finished his dip and retrieved his towel, the stranger continued his taunting invective as Angus headed toward his car.

The verbal assailant, however, may not have realized there were witnesses to the verbal assault and they came forward afterward. It turned out the menacing man was from Alberta.

In a recent phone call, I spoke with Angus about the incident and the alarming crescendo of threatening, bile-filled encounters he and other Canadian politicians have experienced in recent years.

Angus noted that since the socalled “Freedom Convoy” that besieged Ottawa in 2022, email and phone-message death threats against him have skyrocketed.

He recounted that when he publicly asked Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to distance himself from the endorsement of infamous, far-right conspiracy broadcaster Alex Jones, hours after photos of Angus’s daughter appeared online detailing where she worked. (According to Angus, Poilievre has yet to disavow Jones’s endorsement.)