Toronto Liberal MP says politicians need more protection after office vandalized

A Toronto MP says vandalism that defaced the outside of her constituency office is an “attack on democracy.”

Liberal MP Julie Dzerowicz, who represents the riding of Davenport, said two people dressed in black approached her constituency office at 1 a.m. on Tuesday and painted a threatening message on the windows.

Photos of the office show red paint dripping around a photo of Dzerowicz in one window and a written message in the other which says “Rahaf is burning Toronto will too.”

Rahaf is a misspelling of Rafah, the city in the Gaza Strip which had been a refuge for more than a million Palestinians fleeing Israeli attacks until Israel launched an offensive there about three weeks ago.

Dzerowicz told reporters Wednesday that she considers the message a threat and also a form of hate speech.

Hate speech in Canada is defined as hatred toward an identifiable group, according to the Criminal Code. When pushed about her claim of hate speech, Dzerowicz waffled a little.

“So all I’m saying to you right now: it is a threat for us, and that is illegal,” she said.

“Do not threaten your MPs. The other thing is vandalism is illegal. Those are the two statements I can make unequivocally right now. Whether it’s fits the true definition of hate, I can’t answer that right now.”

Dzerowicz added that it has a direct impact on democracy.

“It could only be two people in the riding (that are) trying to do this, but it impacts 99 per cent of the rest of the riding because we can’t serve them,” she told reporters Wednesday.

“This is an attack against our democracy, and we need to do more to stop this.”

She said the Toronto police hate crime unit has visited the office since the incident. Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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