Twice last week, Lake Cowichan councillor Bob Day was working at a local grocery store when a placard-toting man came in and followed him around while making defamatory comments and threatening to ruin his political career.
Day said that kind of behaviour by constituents doesn’t happen often, but when it does, “It sort of grinds on you because we’re not all in this to piss people off. Anything I do in politics is around getting along with everybody, appreciating everybody, even if their opinion may not be the same as mine.”
Day shared his experience after attending a standing-room-only Union of B.C. Municipalities conference clinic Tuesday on the rise of incivility in local government — particularly the conduct of the public toward elected officials and municipal staff.
“It produces an environment in which government becomes more difficult and legislative productivity is severely reduced, if not impossible,” said presenter and lawyer Kathleen Higgins.
Higgins said research shows “hands down” that incivility is on the rise and surveys show the public agrees. One reason is that government is more open than it used to be, but a major contributor to the bad behaviour is social media.
“You can vent on social media with few repercussions and this has allowed people to let it rip,” Higgins said.
The danger, she said, is that uncivil discourse reduces trust in and respect for politicians, and takes away the ability to engage in reasoned discussion and reach bipartisan compromises on urgent policy issues.
“In the long run, it does erode public discourse on really difficult issues,” Higgins said.
White Rock Mayor Wayne Baldwin said rude, disrespectful and disruptive behaviour by members of the public is something that virtually all politicians endure.
Maple Ridge Mayor Nicole Read, Langley Township councillor Michelle Sparrow and Chilliwack Mayor Sharon Gatz were in the news recently because they had been targets of harassment.
Penticton Mayor Andrew Jakubeit said his city’s previous mayor and council sent legal letters about cases of borderline defamation. Wilfried Viktor, mayor of Hope, described one property owner who has sued the city numerous times and been declared a vexatious litigant.
“That was comforting for me to know that it’s going on all over the place,” said Day after the clinic.
Higgins stressed the importance of having a good procedure bylaw in place — she held up the City of North Vancouver’s as an example — to prevent and deal with uncivil behaviour, and social media policies. Litigation is usually a last resort, she said.
Pitt Meadows Mayor John Becker said he has sued some members of the public who accused him online of taking bribes and laundering money through his legal practice.
He said the suit, which is still before the courts, abruptly ended the chatter.
“If people think I’m an asshole, that’s probably fair comment. If they think I should be thrown out of office in the next election, that’s fine,” Becker said. “But you cross a line that I would think everybody would recognize if you say, ‘He’s taking bribes from a developer and laundering it through his firm.’ That crosses a line.”
Related
‘Personal threat’ made against Maple Ridge mayor
(Published May 1, 2017)
Maple Ridge Mayor Nicole Read has limited public appearances due to a “personal threat” to her safety.
The mayor has been the target of online harassment in recent months, Maple Ridge chief administrative officer Ted Swabey said Monday.
“Recently we were provided with credible information relating to a personal threat to the mayor’s safety,” he said in a statement.
The threat has been referred to the RCMP, which is conducting an investigation.
In the meantime, the mayor has curtailed her attendance at public events. Read did not attend the last two council meetings. She also missed the March 28 council meeting due to an illness.
“Mayor Read is hopeful that she can resume her duties soon,” said Swabey, noting this has been a difficult time for the mayor and her family.
Read is not available for comment, said the city.
Our focus is in ensuring that all of our elected officials and staff feel that they can carry out their work free of harassment and with a sense of personal safety,” Swabey added. “This is the cornerstone of our democratic system.”
This isn’t the first time Read has received threats that required heightened security.
During the 2014 municipal election campaign, Read received a threat through a private Facebook message that prompted the hiring of a private security firm to patrol her house, said the Maple Ridge News.
— Cheryl Chan, Vancouver Sun
