Quebec police hotline set up for election candidates targeted by threats: Legault

Coalition Avenir Québec Chief François Legault says provincial police have arrange a direct line of communication for candidates coping with threats or who’re involved about security through the election marketing campaign.

Legault confirmed candidates can name the Sûreté du Québec telephone quantity “seven days every week, 24 hours a day” in the event that they urgently want to talk to a police officer.

“(The quantity) was despatched to every chief of the 5 events,” Legault advised reporters at a information convention Friday in Lévis.

Bernard Drainville, a star candidate for the Coalition Avenir Québec and a former Parti Québécois minister, mentioned he obtained a textual content message within the morning with the contact data in case there’s any threat to his or his household’s security.

“I obtained it simply earlier than coming right here,” he mentioned.

The emergency telephone quantity comes amid threats and vandalism focusing on these on the marketing campaign path. Legault had referred to as for calm Thursday whereas additionally urging police to be prepared for anybody who wants it.

Liberal candidate Marwah Rizqy, who’s pregnant, revealed that she has obtained dying threats and that final week a person referred to as police to inform them he had murdered her. She mentioned she felt penalized, too, since provincial police beneficial to her to not marketing campaign and for her employees to steer clear of her constituency workplace.

The Quebec Liberal Get together additionally reported that the driving workplace of Enrico Ciccone in Montreal was robbed and vandalized someday Tuesday night time. He mentioned he additionally just lately obtained dying threats, but it surely’s not clear if the 2 incidents are associated.

Earlier this week, the Conservative Get together of Quebec mentioned two of its volunteers had been threatened in separate incidents when placing up election posters over the weekend.

Safety has been excessive round political hopefuls regardless that the election marketing campaign is simply in its sixth day. Parti Québécois Chief Paul St-Pierre Plamondon advised reporters he was given bulletproof vests to maintain him protected.

— with recordsdata from The Canadian Press