PETERBOROUGH-Peterborough Police say there are no grounds for criminal charges after federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh was called names and given the finger at a recent campaign event.
Singh was in Peterborough On May 10th to support local NDP candidate Jen Deck.
Police say the service assigned two investigators to the incident and along with evidence received from the community, the investigators scoured social media and over the past week have watched and analyzed the clips provided by various sources.
“Investigators also spoke with the complainants in the matter and pending new information there are no grounds to proceed with criminal charges at this time.” said Acting Chief Tim Farquharson. “While the behaviour, actions, and comments are disrespectful and should not be encouraged or condoned, they fail to rise to the threshold of being criminal in nature.”
Peterborough Mayor Diane Therrien released a statement earling today condemning the protestors.
“I, Mayor of Peterborough, am calling on every political leader in Canada to stand with the good people of Peterborough and condemn these tactics. To refuse to be intimidated and coerced into appeasing or collaborating in any way with those who are terrorizing our democratic processes. To say, that this terror must stop now for the good of our country and for the protection of our democratic freedoms.” said the statement. “To say nothing is a choice. To not clearly, forcefully and repeatedly condemn these tactics is to be complicit. And the good, decent people of Canada who place a high value on peace and respectful discourse, must demand this from themselves and from all political leaders.”
Therrien has been accused of the type of behaviour she is now condemning.
In April 2021 Therrien had a message for two other politicians tweeting:
“Hey (Hillier and Bernier) I know you boys are bored but stay TF at home”
She also tweeted:
” TL;DR: The travelling clown convention isn’t welcome @randyhillier @MaximeBernier”
Hillier was a sitting MPP at the time. He was a Conservative MPP from 2007 to 2019 and then sat as an independent.
Maxime Bernier is the leader of the People’s Party of Canada.
Therrien was investigated by the integrity commissioner for those statements. The commissioner found the tweets didn’t rise to the standard of harassment as defined under Peterborough’s code of conduct.
Police say they recognize that some residents may not be happy that no charges are being laid.
“We recognize that this may not be the news some have wanted to hear. The fact that exchanges between those with differing opinions continues to be disrespectful and unproductive is troubling and the systemic undercurrent of hate and anger should bother us all as a community. As we have during the past several years, the Service continues to encourage residents to be respectful in their expression of opinion. stated Farquharson.
Anyone with further information on the incident is encouraged to come forward and contact the Peterborough Police Crime Line at 705-876-1122 x555 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.stopcrimehere.ca.