Three Rivers councillor feels unjustly targeted by some residents, but won't be bullied into leaving
Anne Van Donkersgoed says as chair of planning board, she feels brunt of town's anger
A councillor in Three Rivers, P.E.I., says the vitriol in the town has become so bad that she has trouble sleeping at night, worries what her family will hear on the streets, and can't even go to the grocery store without plotting an exit strategy.
But Anne Van Donkersgoed said she won't be bullied into leaving her position on council, which pays her a stipend of $609 a month, even in the face of people accusing her of being "on the take."
And she has a message for those who are directing hostility at her: "This is my home and I've chosen to serve my community in this way and this time. You can lie about me, you can threaten me, you can whatever, but I'm not leaving. I'm here to stay."
As chair of the planning board, Van Donkersgoed has been feeling the brunt of anger from residents upset about swaths of land in Eastern P.E.I. being bought by foreigners, some with ties to the Buddhist group Bliss and Wisdom.
Tensions have become so high that the Three Rivers council decided to move its regular Tuesday night meeting online this week instead of holding it in person, after someone posted on social media it was "time to get the guns out and sharpen those knives."
RCMP are investigating, but some staff and councillors still feel unsafe.
On Wednesday, a security consultant from Nova Scotia provided them with training on how to de-escalate heated situations.
Chris O'Brien of Ridgeback Security led the session. He said he's seeing an increase in threats against elected officials across the Atlantic region.
"They are trying to serve the public, they're there to listen and hear, but some of the conversations are taken a turn where safety is becoming a major factor ... and governments have to act on those while still hearing and listening to the public and that's a hard line to walk."
'Time to make a scene'
Former UPEI professor David Weale has been a prominent voice among those who are concerned about the land purchases. The threatening message that police are investigating was posted as a comment in a thread on Weale's Facebook page, though it was not Weale who wrote it. It has since been removed.
Weale has, however, written on his Facebook page: "Time to make a scene. Time to push back forcibly! Time to shout "NO"! Time to start taking back the Island!"
When CBC News reached out to him for comment, Weale responded by saying he did not trust CBC to be impartial on the issue.
I think it's unfortunate when any level of government has to be worried for their public safety because of threats of violence. I think that's not who we are as Islanders; it's not who we are as Canadians.— Housing, Land and Communities Minister Steven Myers
Van Donkersgoed said she doesn't how things got to this point. She said she has relayed concerns to the P.E.I. government, since that is the level of government that oversees land purchases. It has nothing to do with municipal politicians.
"I'm being attacked for something I have absolutely no control over. I'm being accused of doing nothing, but what is it that you want me to do?"
Steven Myers, the provincial minister responsible for housing, land and communities, said he too has had to call in police after threats were made against him and his family.
"I think it's unfortunate when any level of government has to be worried for their public safety because of threats of violence. I think that's not who we are as Islanders; it's not who we are as Canadians."
Paul MacNeill, a newspaper publisher who lives in Three Rivers and has followed the land issue closely, said people are entitled to their opinions, but a lot of the accusations on social media have not been substantiated.
"What really concerns me is sort of the escalation in rhetoric towards a council or volunteers or towards anyone who doesn't sort of buy into their rhetoric," he said.
We're not traitors. We've been called traitors. We're not the darkness. We've been called the darkness.— Paul MacNeill, publisher of Eastern Graphic and West Prince Graphic
"We're not traitors. We've been called traitors. We're not the darkness. We've been called the darkness. We're simply people who are saying: 'If you've got evidence, show it — and if you've got a case, take it to the RCMP.'"
MacNeill said it's time for the provincial government and the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission to test the amendments to the Lands Protection Act that were passed in the legislature two years ago.
"The only way we can ratchet down the rhetoric is to get IRAC to actually start looking into this. Give them the resources they need to do an independent study of land ownership and corporate connections in Prince Edward Island. And if the King government isn't prepared to do that, then the rhetoric will only escalate more."
Meanwhile, the Three Rivers planning board is meeting Monday to discuss some of the input it has received from the public on its changes to its development bylaws.
Planning board to meet Monday
That meeting will be held in person, not virtually, and town officials say security will be present to ensure everybody's safety.
But that doesn't make councillors like Van Donkersgoed feel any less nervous running errands out in the community. She worries about her family hearing negative comments and false accusations about her.
"If I go to the grocery store now, I make sure that I don't get in a lineup until the person is leaving from the cash, so that if the person beside me wants to start a conversation, I have an exit," she said.
"I'm sad for the people who feel threatened. I'm sad for the people who are naming me on Facebook as somebody who is, you know, uncaring for their community, on the take, you know, a multitude of other things. But I'm also not going to give up. I care about this community and I'm staying to do what I can to help move it forward."
With files from Wayne Thibodeau