Former Conservative candidate’s family targeted in Clarington amid false slaughterhouse claims

For weeks now, Mohsin Bhuiyan has lived with the sense that someone is watching his family. Drones appear over the property. Cars slow down on the road outside. Messages arrive threatening violence. What began as online claims that the small hobby farm he runs with his family was an illegal slaughterhouse has left them anxious in their own home.

Bhuiyan, who ran as the Conservative Party candidate in the 2021 federal election, described the change at a press conference on Thursday organized by the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM). Summer used to mean time outside with his daughters. Now, he said, the family hesitates before stepping out the door, unsure who might be recording them or what new rumour might be spreading.

“Home no longer feels like sanctuary,” he told reporters. “It has become a place where we constantly look over our shoulders.”

The farm is modest. There are laying hens, some ducks, rabbits and a small vegetable garden. Bhuiyan said the animals are kept for the family's own use, which is permitted under Ontario law. Clarington bylaw officers, provincial agriculture staff, and Durham Region health officials have all visited and found zero evidence of illegal meat processing. Bhuiyan said he welcomed the checks and thanked the officials for treating the complaints seriously rather than assuming the worst.

But despite multiple inspections having backed up Bhuiyan's story, the online disinformation campaign has continued. Posts have accused the family of animal cruelty and circulated details about the property. Some have referenced violence in Belfast as something Clarington residents should consider.

The NCCM says this has moved beyond ordinary disagreement. Omar Kamissa, the group's chief mobilization officer (CMO), told reporters that repeated claims portraying Muslims as a threat, combined with calls to "take a page" from overseas unrest, have real consequences when they reach people willing to act on them.

Clarington Mayor Adrian Foster, attended the event and said the intimidation did not reflect the community.

“Nobody should feel unsafe in Clarington,” he said.

When asked by The Provincial Times whether he or other members of council had spoken directly to former mayor John Mutton—whose social media posts have featured prominently in the disinformation campaign—Mayor Foster said he had not, instead pointing to public statements he has made on behalf of council.

Bhuiyan made clear his family is not opposed to people raising legitimate concerns. If someone believes illegal activity is taking place, he said, they should report it through proper channels. What troubles him is the speed with which unproven claims about him and his family have led to surveillance, threats and a planned protest outside the home where his children sleep.

The episode has prompted fresh calls from the NCCM for stricter rules on online platforms and closer attention to groups that promote or prepare for politically motivated violence. For the Bhuiyan family, the immediate concern is simpler; they want the rumours to stop and the feeling of being watched to end.

The Provincial Times reached out to Conservative MP Jamil Jivani for comment on the matter but did not receive a response before publication.