Thursday, April 18, 2024

St. Catharines councillor returns GoFundMe donations for smashed window repairs

First Published:

A politician in St. Catharines is returning GoFundMe donations from the community to fix her broken window.

In a joint statement, city councillors Karrie Porter and Laura Ip said the $2,460 raised will be given back because regional integrity commissioners said there may be a violation if the donations were accepted.

Ip started the fundraiser so that Porter would not have to pay out of her own pocket for the damages.

Integrity commissioners John Mascarin and Michael Maynard said there is no violation in starting and administering the initiative; but there may be a problem if Porter takes the donations.

In the morning of Jan. 31, Porter took to Twitter to say a rock was thrown through the front window of her home by an unknown person. She believes she caught the suspect on video running away from the scene.

Porter acknowledged that the perpetrator was likely motivated by her recent social media comments about the ongoing trucker convoy and the topics of facism and antifascism.

This is the second time Porter has had her home vandalized as people protesting the COVID-19 vaccines spray painted her home last fall.

St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik is also among local politicians who have been targeted recently. Last September, his home and vehicle were vandalized.

“Politicians’ homes are being attacked and targeted,” Sendzik said in a Morning Live interview Thursday.

“That never should be accepted by a community. These are polarizing times and people have to stop these kinds of acts that are violent.”

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