After being accosted by a group of angry Canadians after a campaign event, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is pleading with Canadians to make their concerns heard without resorting to yelling and name-calling.."When it gets to this level, it doesn’t help in making better decisions (and) it doesn’t help our communities feel safer," Singh said..Following a campaign event in Peterborough, Ont., Singh was harassed by a group of a dozen Canadians who taunted him and screamed things like, "You turned your back on the people," "I have children and you will not touch them," and "You're a traitor.".Many of the protestors also gave Singh the finger as he climbed into a van. Singh did not say anything to the crowd, and only waved at them from the passenger seat..In the video, several people can be heard talking about the Freedom Convoy that stayed in Ottawa in February, which Singh did not support..Nicole Comber, who attended the protest and also runs a grassroots organization Hold Fast, told the Western Standard that she didn't support the vulgar language used by some people.."With that being said, we do support peaceful protests to speak out against the corruption of the government," she said. "A lot of Canadians are very frustrated and they feel like they don't have any other options right now.".At a news conference in Ottawa on Wednesday, Singh said the protestors said “some really horrible things” and he wants people to be able to disagree without it becoming aggressive and saying things like "I hope you die.".“We should be able to disagree. We can disagree vehemently about a policy, about a decision, about the impacts of that decision on one’s family or community, those are important things," Singh said. .In a Twitter post on Thursday, Singh said "polarization and disinformation are real dangers to our society," and that politicians must remember "the consequences when they stoke fear and division.".Several politicians came out in support of Singh on social media following the incident. Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said Singh deserves to "live and work freely, without intimidation," while Transportation Minister Omar Alghabra said the incident was "appalling" and "unacceptable.".Conservative leadership candidate Scott Aitchison, who has presented himself as a unifying figure in the Conservative Party, said "this vitriol is corrosive for our politics and bad for the country, and that "politics by intimidation has no place in Canada.".Not everyone online was as sympathetic towards the leader of the NDP. "You make your bed you gotta sleep in it. As tax paying Canadians they have every right to express their disgust," wrote former professional ice hockey player Theo Fleury.."You earn respect, you can’t demand it.".Similar events were seen on the campaign trail during the 2021 election, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau often had insults, and even rocks, hurled at him.
