Police in Ontario say there are no grounds to proceed with criminal charges involving the harassment of Burnaby South MP Jagmeet Singh during a campaign stop earlier this month.
The federal NDP leader was in Peterborough on May 10 to show support for Jen Deck as she's running as the orange party's candidate (Peterborough-Kawartha) in Ontario's upcoming provincial election on June 2.
In videos circulating on social media, protesters were heard saying "You're a traitor" and "You're a piece of s--t," while others told Singh to go "f--k himself" while holding up their middle fingers as he was leaving.
Protesters continued to swarm Singh while he worked his way through the crowd to get into a waiting SUV.
It's not known if he had security with him.
On Tuesday (May 18), the Peterborough Police Service said it assigned two investigators to look into the matter, but pending any new information, there are no grounds to proceed with criminal charges "at this time."
"While the behaviour, actions, and comments are disrespectful and should not be encouraged or condoned, they fail to rise to the threshold of being criminal in nature," said a news release.
"We recognize that this may not be the news some have wanted to hear. The fact that exchanges between those with differing opinions continues to be disrespectful and unproductive is troubling and the systemic undercurrent of hate and anger should bother us all as a community.
"As we have during the past several years, the Service continues to encourage residents to be respectful in their expression of opinion."
Peterborough police said it was "actively" looking into the confrontation two days after it took place after receiving a complaint from the public.
In a recent tweet, Singh said hate needs to be confronted to give it no space to grow.
"Sadly, polarization and disinformation are real dangers to our society," he wrote.
"While disagreements are fundamental to a thriving democracy — hatred, violence and wishing death upon others threaten it. Politicians must remember the consequences when they stoke fear and division.
"When hate is given space to grow, it spreads like wildfire. That is why we must always confront it — giving it no space to take hold, no room to grow."
