Guelph police defend decision not to publicize MP Marwan Tabbara's arrest

Police in Guelph, Ont., say they didn'tinform the public about assault charges against a member ofParliament because the force didn't believe he posed a significantrisk to the public.

Marwan Tabbara, who represents the riding of KitchenerSouth-Hespeler, was arrested on April 10 and chargedwith assault, break and enter and harassment, but the Guelph PoliceService did not make that information public. The charges became public on June 5 when CBC News and Global reported on them.

In a release on Thursday, police cited a section of the PoliceServices Act that says chiefs of police and their designates have the right to release information to the public if they believethe accused person poses a risk to the public and making theinformation available would reduce that risk.

They say the police service's media relations unit was notinformed of Tabbara's arrest.

News of the charges against the two-term MP didn't come out untillast weekwhen Tabbara said he would be taking a "step back" fromthe Liberal caucus.

The Prime Minister's Office said it only learned about thecharges last Friday morning and was "looking into the matter."