Police say man faces assault charge in alleged scuffle with P.E.I. cabinet minister

Charlottetown police say a 62-year-old man faces an assault charge in connection with a July 19 incident at the Confederation Centre of the Arts.

Police issued a news release on Friday saying the unidentified man has been released pending a court appearance at a later date, adding that he is to have no contact with the alleged victim.

Police have said they were called to the arts venue after a man allegedly shoved provincial Housing Minister Rob Lantz during a heated exchange at an information session on a proposed supervised consumption site.

Video circulating on social media by CBC and CTV reporters showed a man using coarse language, spilling liquid from a cup in Lantz’s hand, and pushing the minister, who last month declined to comment on the incident.

A supervised consumption site is a place where people can bring their own drugs to use in the presence of trained staff, in an effort to help reduce accidental overdoses and the spread of infectious diseases.

The Prince Edward Island government has said the proposed site would be part of an expansion to the Park Street Emergency Shelter close to downtown Charlottetown.