{"id":99529,"date":"2024-03-25T12:15:14","date_gmt":"2024-03-25T16:15:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/editionap.ca\/?p=99529"},"modified":"2025-12-16T13:57:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T12:57:06","slug":"mayors-speak-out-against-harassment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/refletnews.ca\/en\/societe\/mayors-speak-out-against-harassment\/","title":{"rendered":"Mayors speak out against harassment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Casselman Mayor Genevi\u00e8ve Lajoie and Russell Mayor Pierre Leroux are speaking out against the harassment they receive on a regular basis as municipal officials.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On Feb. 22, Lajoie posted to her Facebook wall about her experience on the constant harassment she has been living with as a person in politics. She mentions how she has been subjected to \u201cunspeakable comments and threats that have no place in a civilized society.\u201d Lajoie received remarks that demean women and threats for exercising her duties as mayor, which she believes underlines the systemic abuse rooted in society.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not just an attack on individuals; it\u2019s an assault on the very principles of equality and democracy,\u201d Lajoie writes in her post. \u201cLet us be loud, be bold, and unequivocally clear: harassment, in any form, against anyone, is unacceptable\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lajoie posted the comments the same day the mayor of Gatineau France B\u00e9lisle resigned to leave an environment she described as hostile.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lajoie urges all individuals who face injustices to raise their voices and \u201conly through our collective outcry that we can hope to dismantle the systemic barriers that perpetuate this abuse.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Only three days prior, on Feb. 19, Mayor Leroux posted a more than 12 minute video addressing his sentiments on the issue. The video got over 2,500 views and 60 comments.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He states that in the last few years, he has noticed that messages he has received and comments on his posts have become very negative. Leroux said he sees a lot of misinformation being spread on social media platforms, people holding grudges, and people who are taking one line from a conversation and turning it into a \u201cclip of the day style weapon\u201d against the township or council.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Leroux apologises for stepping back on his social media. He expressed hope that the harassment would subside if he wasn’t engaging with the harassment.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI felt that if I stopped engaging with those people on social media, I would somehow provide less fuel for the fire. But now I realize: the fire will always be burning, and my absence will mean one less person throwing water on it.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Casselman Mayor Genevi\u00e8ve Lajoie and Russell Mayor Pierre Leroux are speaking out against the harassment they receive on a regular basis as municipal officials.\u00a0 On Feb. 22, Lajoie posted to her Facebook wall about her experience on the constant harassment she has been living with as a person in politics. She mentions how she has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":27061,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-societe"],"acf":[],"featured_media_global":[],"yoast_head":"\nMayors speak out against harassment - Le Reflet \/ The News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Casselman Mayor Genevi\u00e8ve Lajoie and Russell Mayor Pierre Leroux are speaking out against the harassment they receive on a regular basis as municipal officials.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/refletnews.ca\/en\/societe\/mayors-speak-out-against-harassment\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mayors speak out against harassment - 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