Nanaimo Mayor Bill McKay says RCMP have told him that his life was threatened.
Police telephoned him within an hour of a Wednesday incident at city hall and informed him, “there were threats uttered against me,” McKay said Monday.
He said he was specifically told that the threats were against his life.
McKay’s comments followed a statement issued by the City of Nanaimo, stating that city hall is safe for residents.
A woman, who has not been named, was arrested last week for uttering threats.
She was released under conditions, which have not been made public. RCMP said that because she had not been charged, her name was not being released.
McKay said that after hearing about the threats, “upon examining the context, I naturally took action to ensure that myself and my family were secure and felt safe. We have a security system at our home.”
Police told him that they would be beefing up patrols, he said.
Asked if other council members and staff were threatened, McKay said police only spoke about what affected him.
There is no additional security at city hall today, he said. “Again, you must balance the level of threat and determine what precautions you are going to take.”
City hall already has security guards and there are bylaws in place as well, McKay said.
“Any witnesses that were involved and any staff members that were subject to the incident have been debriefed. The RCMP has interviewed them and we will be conducting our own investigation.”
The debriefing was carried out by the city’s human resources staff, he said.
“I am personally checking to make sure that staff are feeling safe and secure,” and the human resources department is also monitoring staff, he said.
Staff that were present during the incident are upset, McKay said. “Something like this doesn’t happen every day.”
Those staff were all at work on Monday.
“It is unfortunate that this incident took place but we are taking all the necessary steps to ensure we co-operate with the RCMP and the investigator that is going to be doing our own internal investigation.” A consultant will be hired to do that investigation, he said.
“This is more a WorkSafe investigation than anything else. It was a display of violence.” No physical violence occurred but this kind of matter is considered violent, McKay said.
McKay said in the city statement: “Thanks to the professional response of our staff, we remain confident in the safety of our municipal hall and our ability to provide ongoing services and support to residents and businesses here in Nanaimo.”
The statement said that because of the ongoing Island District RCMP investigation, it would be inappropriate and potentially disruptive for the city to make further comment.
Deputy Mayor Jerry Hong said, “The City of Nanaimo has policies and procedures in place to safeguard a respectful and supportive workplace, and to reflect the values and priorities of our residents.”
