Front-line staff shouldn't have to take brunt of public anger, P.E.I. mayors say

As the mayor for the rural municipality of West River, P.E.I., Helen Smith-MacPhail says she appreciates the importance of passionate and engaged citizens.

People should be able to voice their concerns, she said.

But it becomes problematic when that passion crosses the line to abuse, especially when it is directed toward front-line staff. Not just at a municipal office, she said. It could be at a hospital, school or anywhere else.

"There seems to be a lot of that, sort of, discontent in society that seems to think it's OK to direct that at somebody," she said. "And usually it's the person that's at the front desk that's getting the complaint."

Smith-MacPhail was among a group of elected officials speaking at a meeting of the Federation of P.E.I. Municipalities in Abram-Village on Saturday.

One of the topics was how to deal with conflict. Smith-MacPhail said they had to install cameras and a panic button in their office, which they've used to summon RCMP at least once when an angry person refused to leave.

"Their stance was this is a public office and I'm a taxpayer and I have the right to be here," she said. "However, they certainly don't have the right to harass people working in that office."

Summerside Mayor Dan Kutcher has also experienced conflict first-hand. He took a break from social media this summer after receiving online harassment that he ultimately had to report to police.

He is back on social media, and it's going well, he said. He believes passionate debate is healthy as long as it doesn't get personal or off-topic.

"You need emotion," he said. "Emotion helps drive all of us. But really, when we want the same thing, which is to build better communities across Prince Edward Island or in Summerside, you really need to make sure we're focusing on solutions and having good discussion and discourse, understanding that we're not all going to agree on everything."

Kutcher said it's important to have support for staff dealing with citizens upset about anything from paying a parking ticket to an unwanted construction project. It's usually no fault of the person receiving the complaint, but it doesn't make it any less unpleasant.

"If you don't have the resources to be able to go get help in situations, it's going to make matters worse," Kutcher said. "And you bring a lot of the stuff home, too.

"So, you can bring that conflict and that stress and that tension back to your house. And that can disrupt your personal life and your family life. And no matter what, that always has to be first for everybody."