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Intimidation and threats against public figures growing cause for concern

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A video showing a man aggressively confronting Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland is renewing concerns over harassment and intimidation faced by public officials.

The incident prompted Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek to share a long list of threats and incidents she's faced over her time in public life - including calls saying they know where she lives and other incidents in the streets and at city hall.

A researcher with U of C's School of Public Policy says some of the increasingly ugly public behaviour is a result of shifting identity-based politics.

"People more and more associate their partisanship with identity," said associate professor Jean-Christophe Boucher.

"Debates now are not about exchanging ideas about debating policies, it's about in-group and out-group conversations."

The trend closes people off to other view points and creates a "win at all costs" mentality.

"It creates a tendency of people to be misinformed about things and to share and amplify content that is not informative or actually true, but also increases toxicity and incivility in people's debate," Boucher said.

Gondek says sharing the incidents and acknowledging her fear has been emotionally draining, and that more action is needed.

"More needs to be done to identify groups and individuals who are perpetuating organized hate," she wrote in the Twitter thread. "They must face consequences before the inevitable violence is unleashed."

"Listen to women who are telling you the law is not strong enough to protect us."

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