In Richmond Hill on Monday, a journalist tried to ask Canada's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland in a public setting, but was arrested by a plainclothes police officer on assault charges.
This incident has caused a huge sensation, and Canada's press freedom has also been questioned and criticized by many people.
It is reported that the day coincided with the fourth anniversary of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shooting down Ukrainian airliner flight PS752, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister Fang Huilan were in Richmond Hill, Ontario for several years with mourners.
Most of the passengers on the plane were on its way to Canada via Ukraine, including 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents, and the plane was shot down shortly after taking off from Tehran, killing all on board.
On the day of the commemoration, David Menzies, a reporter for the right-wing Rebel News, walked up to Ms. Fong with a microphone in hand and asked why the government had not designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization, but Ms. Fong did not respond.
Menzies, who was walking side by side with Fong, asked a second question when he was stopped by a plainclothes police officer (the Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer in charge of Ms. Fong's personal security), who grabbed him and said he had been arrested on assault charges.
Menzies questioned why he was arrested after just asking a question, but was eventually handcuffed and taken away with the help of York District Police. However, he was eventually acquitted.
The arrest also caused quite a stir on social media.
Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre said that this is the state of press freedom in Canada in 2024, and this is what it will be like after the Trudeau government has been in power for 8 years.
Laureen Harper, the wife of former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Joseph Harper, also said that people at the police academy should show the trainees the video to let them know what not to do.
Elon Musk also replied: "It does look like this (the journalist was wrongfully arrested for trumped-up assault), and it's good behavior for a police officer to physically block someone trying to approach a senior government official, but it's wrong to say he deliberately assaulted." ”
Ron Chhinzer, a former Peel police officer, also called the arrest "an absolute disgrace to the profession." ”
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said it was reviewing the incident and the actions of the parties and declined to comment further.
As of Tuesday evening, neither Menzies' nor Ms. Fong's offices had commented.