Spitting comment draws 'scary' police attention

MP contacts RCMP about e-mail written by woman blasting Martin

By Amy Smith / Provincial Reporter

A Halifax woman who wrote that she wanted to spit in Paul Martin's face says she didn't mean to threaten anyone. Mary MacDonald, a disabled single mother, got a reply from the RCMP after sending an e-mail Wednesday to Halifax West MP Geoff Regan. In it, she wrote about the incoming prime minister's $700-a-plate fundraising dinner the night before in Toronto, saying folks were dining on gourmet fare while there were huge lines at food banks.

Mr. Martin was sworn in as prime minister on Friday. The final line of Ms. MacDonald's e-mail said: "If I had the opportunity to do so, I would welcome the chance to spit in this man's face." Mr. Regan's office forwarded the message to the RCMP, who e-mailed Ms. MacDonald and asked her to contact them. She said she called the Mounties and spoke to someone in their national security investigation section.

"It was a very unfortunate figure of speech that I used," a tearful Ms. MacDonald said Monday. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be talking to the police. I found myself in a very scary situation." She warned other Canadians to be careful about what they say in public. "I will be curbing my letter writing and my e-mail writing in the future," she said.

Even the telephone caused a problem. On Friday, Ms. MacDonald phoned the Hot Line call-in show on CJCH-AM in Halifax to talk about the situation. After going on the show, she said, she received a "cryptic e-mail" from the RCMP, saying they had heard her comments on the radio. The e-mail thanked her for "the publicity our national security investigations section has received as a result of your call."

On Monday, Ms. MacDonald said: "I wasn't trying to thumb my nose at anyone." Sgt. Wayne Noonan, provincial RCMP spokesman, said threatening to commit an offence against an internationally protected person, such as Mr. Martin, is a crime under Section 424 of the Criminal Code of Canada and is punishable by up to five years in prison.

"If I'm going to say, 'I'm going to spit in your face,' that's a form of assault," Sgt. Noonan said Monday. "You can't threaten to assault our prime minister." Sgt. Noonan said a record would be kept of the incident but that the RCMP do not plan to charge the woman. "There's no need to come forward with charges here," he said.

Jamie Carroll, a spokesman for Mr. Regan's office, said the MP told him they don't have the expertise to make threat assessments, which is why the e-mail was turned over to the RCMP. Mr. Regan, named fisheries minister on Friday, has called Ms. MacDonald to apologize for the way things were handled, Mr. Carroll said. "We're not happy," Mr. Carroll said. "We don't like to see constituents harassed."