Mental health is just one of the stressors of being a politician in La Belle province — along with death treats and verbal and physical intimidation.So much so, the Quebec government is spending $2 million to set up a distress line to provide psychological assistance to municipal officials and their families who are increasingly becoming the victims of harassment from their disgruntled and increasingly hostile constituents..“I think it's urgent to have a conversation about the climate if we want a continuation of public service,"Former Gatineau Mayor France Bélisle.It comes a week after Gatineau Mayor France Bélisle, abruptly resigned her post after citing death threats made against herself and family members.And she’s not alone.According to the provincial government, 741 of Quebec’s 8,000 local politicos — almost 10% — have quit since 2021 citing mental stress. A further 74% have reported receiving threats and harassment. Aggressive protests at town council meetings have become more frequent with several instances where police have been called to respond. In September 2023, the Sûreté du Québec shot a Montreal man who had allegedly made threats against both Premier Legault and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.“I think it's urgent to have a conversation about the climate if we want a continuation of public service," Bélisle warned before resigning..The situation has become so bad Legault's government is considering criminal penalties over and above those in the Criminal Code to deal with harassment and intimidation of elected officials.In the 2022 provincial election more than 20 people were arrested for making threats to local candidates and damaging election property.Scholars have blamed the so-called ‘Trump effect’ for radicalizing political conversations in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw the Quebec government impose two rounds of curfews that effectively traumatized voters..In addition to the help line, the provincial government is also looking to implement a mandatory online training course for newly-elected leaders to enable them to deal with some of the stressors in their roles.“We're really going to encompass everything," said the province's municipal affairs minister, Andrée Laforest.
