Then-Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms Patrick McDonnell carries the wooden mace through the Hall of Honour in February, 2016, on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Threats directed at members of Parliament have skyrocketed in the past five years, the most senior official responsible for Commons security has told a committee, which is looking into broadening the rules that govern harassment of MPs by their colleagues.
Patrick McDonnell, the Sergeant-at-Arms, told the procedure and House affairs committee on Tuesday that his office is filing complaints about abusive posts targeting MPs to social-media platforms in bulk because there is “just so much of it.”
In 2019, he said his staff had opened eight files on threats or threatening behaviour directed at MPs, which increased to 530 in 2023. Harassment of MPs online and in person increased by about 700 per cent in the same period, he said.
Mr. McDonnell said the Commons monitors social media and asks platforms to take down threatening posts about MPs, but they do not always do so. Since Elon Musk took over X – formerly Twitter – it has become far more difficult to get the platform to respond because staff Mr. McDonnell’s office used to speak to in Canada were removed.
Liberal MP Sherry Romanado, a member of the committee, said concerns about being targeted were having a chilling effect on some MPs, who were thinking twice about intervening in debates on an issue that could prompt a stream of abuse online.
The committee is also looking at whether to broaden Commons rules on harassment to include all complaints by MPs about other MPs. The rules currently cover sexual harassment.
Debate and committee proceedings are governed by strict rules of decorum, but they do not extend outside the chamber or committee. But MPs said there were other instances of behaviour by colleagues outside those spaces for which there is currently no redress.
Ms. Romanado told The Globe and Mail that psychological harassment of MPs by other MPs – including socially excluding or belittling a member, ignoring them or dismissing their views – were problems that needed to be addressed by the House of Commons.
“At the end of the day, it’s how a member feels,” she said, adding that she was not talking about debates in the chamber.
NDP MP Lindsay Mathyssen expressed concern that some witnesses were declining to give evidence at committees because of the backlash they could face on social media after appearing.
She blamed “clipping culture,” where clips of questions at committees are posted on social media – including by Conservative MPs – for deterring witnesses from appearing, even though their testimony may be protected by parliamentary privilege.
Liberal MP Pam Damoff, who earlier this month announced she will not run in the next federal election after experiencing misogyny and threats to her life, told the committee that her office had set up a “whole sub-folder in our inbox called misogyny.”
In addition to tweets, she said she had received “threats and absolutely horrific messages to my office,” as well as phone calls from across Canada.
Commons Speaker Greg Fergus faced questions from Conservatives about whether he would deal with harassment complaints from opposition MPs and their staff impartially. As Speaker, Mr. Fergus must behave as a neutral, non-partisan referee, even though he is a Liberal MP.
On Monday, the Conservatives put forward a motion in the House of Commons to remove Mr. Fergus as Speaker, saying he lacks impartiality in the role, but it was defeated in a vote Tuesday evening.
Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner said she would not trust the Speaker to treat her fairly if she came to him with such a complaint, and she could not be sure “that I wouldn’t have my issue twisted for partisan games.”
She cited his public support for the Prime Minister after he was accused in 2016 of elbowing a female NDP MP at the time, Ruth Ellen Brosseau, in the chest in the House, in what came to be known as “elbowgate.”
Mr. Fergus said at the time that he had seen the incident and thought it “might have been exaggerated.”
But Mr. Fergus told Ms. Rempel Garner on Tuesday he would treat any such complaint impartially and with the “utmost seriousness.”
Conservative MP Jamil Jivani also challenged the Speaker on the necessity to remain neutral in assessing harassment complaints.
The Speaker said it was important to remain impartial: “I hope all the decisions that I pronounced in this place would be judged by any fair-minded person as being decisions that can stand the test of time.”
The Conservatives and Bloc Québécois have called for Mr. Fergus to resign after partisan language was used for an advertisement for an event in his riding.
The Liberal Party apologized to Mr. Fergus and said the language posted on the event page used standardized language the party uses for events and was posted without the Speaker’s knowledge.