After clearing broken glass from his vandalized constituency office in Parksville, Courtenay – Alberni MP Gord Johns hopes tensions will begin to ease with the latest federal and provincial announcements.
As provinces begin lifting some COVID protection measures, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s announced repeal of the Emergencies Act, Johns said people can begin to feel less anxious as life begins a return to normal.
“We know people are tired of the pandemic, they’re exhausted by the restrictions that have been in place, they want to get back to normal as quickly as possible, people are frustrated but this isn’t the way to deal with it,” he said “Now we need to get back to the proper discourse and have the conversations about the concerns that people have, and hopefully we can get back to normal as soon as possible and we won’t have to deal with any more situations like this.”
He said his office was innundated with phone calls, e-mails and social media posts from people in the United States and eastern Canada, intent on jamming up government systems.
“It’s created a lot of work for my staff and taking away our ability to serve our constituents,” he said. “I’m hoping the tone and level of division will come down as we see the situation in Ottawa get relieved and we need to start the journey of healing as a country and work collectively together.”
Johns said violent acts like the smashing of windows at his Parksville constituency office must be condemned by all Canadians, who ultimately foot the bill for increased security and building repairs.
Although Oceanside police have not made any arrests yet, Johns believes the vandalism to his Parksville office is connected to the protests in Ottawa he waded through every day to get to his seat in Parliament.
His neighbouring MP Rachel Blaney also had her office in Campbell River vandalized over the weekend, as windows were covered with anti-vaccine messages.
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