A Commentary by Doug Draper
I read the story that my journalist colleague John Robbins posted this March 20 on Bullet News, and I was outraged.
Niagara Falls MPP Kim Craitor
This story focused on the threats being leveled against Niagara Falls MPP Kim Craitor over the decision his government, the Liberal government of Premier Dalton McGuinty, made to close ‘The Slots’ in Fort Erie, throwing more than 200 people out of work by the end of this April, and possibly leading to the end of many hundreds of more jobs at the Fort Erie Race Track within the end of this year.
If people in the Fort Erie area want to blame Craitor, who happens to be a Liberal MPP and whose riding happens to include Fort Erie, for the decision his government made, that is their prerogative. Yet there is no excuse – none whatsoever – for threatening that MPP or any other to a point where they feel afraid to set foot in any part of their constituency for fear of being physically attacked . Anyone who fires off those kinds of threats should be reported to the police and charged accordingly.
In an article John Robbins wrote for Bullet Media this March 20, Niagara Falls MP Kim Craitor made known that he has received enough threats from certain individuals in the Fort Erie area in the past few days that: “I’m afraid to go to Fort Erie.” … “I’ve never experienced anything like this in his life,” Craitor went on to say.
Among the threats Craitor and members of his staff have received since his government announced this past March 12 that it will close the Slots facilities in Fort Erie by the end of this April are: “We’re going to get you. … We’ll bury your alive.
Bury an MPP alive! What the fuck does that mean?
Regardless of how you feel about Craitor or how he has handled this issue, who are these people to make that kind of a threat? I don’t know about you, but if I phoned or emailed an MPP and threatened to bury him or her alive, I would expect the Ontario Provincial Police to be knocking on my door an hour or two later with a warrant for my arrest.
I contacted Kim Craitor this March 20 and he did not care to discuss further the comments he shared with John Robbins of Bullet News, only to say that the story was accurate. That being said, every effort should be made under the law to track down those who threatened Craitor physically.
In the name of democracy, no elected member of office, regardless of party, should be afraid to engage with their constituents. It is affront to everything our free and open democracy stands for.
(Niagara At Large invites you to share your views on this post so long as you also share your first and last name with your views. Anonymous comments will not be posted.)
Niagara At Large 
You are absolutely on the mark here, Doug. Astounding that another platform media would put such aggressive remarks online is deeply concerning.
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I completely agree with you but how do the police track down the perpetrators without Craitor’s input? He is sets a bad example by not assisting the police and prosecutors. I would hope he comes forward with more information so that these people can be caught and dealt with by the law.
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MPP Kim Craitor is a good man and an honourable politician. I agree with you, Doug. Threats against his life are completely reprehensible and must not be tolerated. This is a situation for the police.
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Kudos Doug – No one should be threatened in that manner — However let’s not assume that our democracy is so free and open – if it was Kim Craitor would be able to speak openly and harshly for or against this and many other issues as a representative of his constituant’s and not his political party and the majority of members of parliament would be making this decision – not McGuinty.
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The fact of the matter is this type of “behavior” has become all too common in Fort Erie via social networks, blogs, emails and in some cases personal confrontations. Apparently a small number of individuals have taken to making many distasteful and disrespectful insults as well as threatening comments towards elected officials, civil servants, and private citizens.
Frankly I am of the opinion that ALL our local leaders could do MUCH MORE in sending a signal that these actions will NOT be tolerated. I can understand MP Craitor’s reluctance to elaborate but I would imagine he’s working with authorities and is just being “tight lipped” at this point in the investigation.
Just as importantly I believe that local journalists SHOULD DO MORE in exposing just who is behind these viscous and unreasonable attacks. Simply burying ones head in the sand and calling these people jerks is just “lazy” journalism. My fear is that left unchecked, these blatant provocations will ultimately result in some sort of preventable tragedy.
Respectfully,
John McCarthy
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I’m in complete agreement with the opinions expressed in this article, as well as those of the commentators. I do urge Mr. Craitor to report the perpetrators to the police. Not doing so merely encourages them. What’s the point of having zero tolerance for bullying in schools if it is going to be tacitly condoned in the community at large?
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Probably never happened!!!! I guarantee that if someone threatened that guy, the first thing he would have done is contacted the authorities. If he didn’t want to make an issue about the incident, then why did he bring it up the media in the first place? Here’s a secret…. believe little what you see, and nothing what you hear. The likely truth is that people have been leaving unpleasant voice messages or emails and he has used these episodes to try to make others feel sorry for him. Boo Friggin Hoo
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