B.C. Minister of Infrastructure Bowinn Ma in North Vancouver on Thursday, after an explosive blasted open the front door of her constituency office.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
The British Columbia Infrastructure Minister says in her eight years as a member of the legislature, she can recall receiving about half a dozen death threats, and considers herself “pretty fortunate” as a provincial politician.
Bowinn Ma says she knows it’s strange to say, but she is aware of other elected officials who have been the subject of many more such threats.
Ms. Ma’s comments come after an explosive blasted open the front door of her North Vancouver constituency office last week, setting off an RCMP investigation.
No one was hurt and police are saying little about a motive or suspects, but Ms. Ma says she won’t be intimidated from continuing her work and serving the community.
However, Ms. Ma says that she is worried about the lasting implications such a threat can have “on the way that politicians serve.”
RCMP officers outside MLA Bowinn Ma's office after an early-morning explosion in North Vancouver on June 27.ETHAN CAIRNS/The Canadian Press
When Ms. Ma was first elected, she says she took over a former member’s office and tore down a security wall that went across the room to make it more welcoming, but now says she’ll work with a legislature security team for a threat assessment and ongoing safety advice.
But Ms. Ma says she is worried the blast can feed into a feeling among elected officials and the public that politicians are being more “frequently targeted.”
“I worry that will drive elected officials further away from these kinds of open approaches, and that’s not a criticism of elected officials.
“I mean, they’ve got to do what they need to do to keep themselves and their staff safe, but we also lose out as a democratic society when that happens.”
Ms. Ma says Mounties told her that “there is no indication of a repeat event” and an investigation is ongoing.
At the same time, Ms. Ma says she encourages anyone passionate about running for office not to be deterred.
“I really do not want these kinds of incidents to dissuade anyone from doing the incredibly important work of serving communities,” she says.