Bas Balkissoon (born ca. 1952) is a politician in Toronto, Ontario. Formerly the Toronto city councillor representing Ward 41 in northeast area of Scarborough, Balkissoon won election to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on November 24, 2005 as the Liberal Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Scarborough—Rouge River.

Background[link]

Born in Trinidad and Tobago, and of Indian descent, Balkissoon rose to prominence as the head of Scarborough Homeowners Alliance For Fair Taxes, an organization that challenged the province's property assessment system. In 1988, he ran for Scarborough city council in what was then Ward 13.

City Councillor[link]

With the formation of the new amalgamated city of Toronto, he was elected to Toronto City Council in 1997. As chair of the city's Audit Committee he was credited with uncovering a dubious computer leasing deal between the city and MFP Financial, which eventually led to the formation of the Toronto Computer Leasing Inquiry. Balkissoon also served for a period on the Police Services Board on which he was critical of then-Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino as well as the Toronto Police Association and its leader at the time, Craig Bromell.

Ontario legislature[link]

On November 24, 2005 Balkissoon was elected as the Member of Provincial Parliament in the riding of Scarborough—Rouge River, replacing Alvin Curling who was appointed as the Canadian ambassador to the Dominican Republic. Balkissoon, as the Liberal Party candidate, won with 58% of the vote. Conservative candidate Cynthia Lai received 24% of the vote and the NDP's Sheila White finished third with 15%. In the Liberal nomination prior to the by-election, the party chose to use a clause in its constitution that declared other candidates invalid, effectively handing the nomination to Balkissoon. This excluded other contenders such as Raymond Cho who considered putting his name forward.^[1]

Balkissoon was re-elected on October 10, 2007, more than doubling his vote total from the by-election, and defeating his closest opponent by over 17,000 votes. October 30, Balkissoon was named Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. He is the Chairman of the Legislative Assembly Committee and is a member of the Select Committee for Mental Health and Addictions. Bas served on the Select Committee that developed the Poverty Reduction Strategy in 2008. He was the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Community Safety from 2006 to 2007 and Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care from 2007 to 2010.

He currently serves as Deputy Speaker and Chair of the Committee of the Whole House (2011-present) and as Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Community and Social Services (2010-present).

Electoral record (Scarborough-Rouge River)[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Bas Balkissoon's official MPP site
• Bas Balkissoon's Ontario Liberal Party biography
• Former City Councillor Bas Balkissoon
• Ontario Legislative Assembly Parliamentarian History

Rathika Sitsabaiesan (Tamil: ராதிகா சிற்சபை ஈசன்) (born December 23, 1981) is a member of the House of Commons of Canada for the New Democratic Party, representing Scarborough—Rouge River. She is the first person of Tamil-origin to be elected to federal parliament in Canada and the first female and first person of colour to be elected as Member of Parliament in Scarborough—Rouge River. She is also the youngest Member of Parliament in the Greater Toronto Area.^[1]

Early life[link]

Sitsabaiesan was born in Jaffna, Sri Lanka,^[3][4] a small town in the peninsula of Jaffna in Northern Province.^[5] She has three elder sisters.^[6] At the age of five, Sitsabaiesan and her family emigrated to Canada.^[4][6][7]

Sitsabaiesan grew up in Mississauga, west of Toronto.^[6] When her father was disabled following a workplace accident, her mother had to give up her nursing studies to work in a warehouse to support the family.^[6] Sitsabaiesan attended the University of Toronto for the first two years of her higher education.^[1][4] While there, she served as Vice President of the Tamil Students Association. ^[4] She would later transfer to Carleton University, where she would go on to complete a Bachelor of Commerce degree.^[4][7]. During her time at Carleton, Sitsabaiesan served as a Vice President of the Carleton University Students' Association, Caucus Chair of the New University Government and Operations Manager of the Rideau River Residence Association.^[4] She completed graduate studies at Queen’s University, where she obtained a Master's degree in Industrial Relations.^[4][7]

Sitsabaiesan has been heavily involved in community and advocacy work. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Malvern Community Coalition, a residents' group in Malvern, Toronto.^[7] She worked for the University of Toronto Students' Union and the Ontario Labour Relations Board before being elected to Parliament.^[4]

Political career[link]

Rathika's 2011 NDP Campaign Speech

Sitsabaiesan became involved with the New Democratic Party (NDP) in 2004 when she volunteered for Ed Broadbent's federal election campaign.^[4][5] She later served in various roles in the NDP including as a canvasser and campaign manager during the 2008 Canadian federal election.^[4] She also served as an advisor on Tamil issues to NDP leader Jack Layton.^[5]

In December 2009 Sitsabaiesan won the nomination to be the NDP's candidate in the Scarborough—Rouge River electoral district in Toronto.^[6] The late federal NDP leader Jack Layton made his final campaigning stop at Sitsabaiesan's campaign rally a day before the 2011 federal election with his wife and fellow NDP MP Olivia Chow. Scarborough—Rouge River was considered a safe Liberal seat that had been held by Derek Lee (who did not contest the seat in 2011) since its creation 1988.^[5][6]. Sitsabaiesan won the 2011 Canadian federal election after securing 18,935 votes (40.62%).^[2] Sitsabaiesan became the first Tamil Canadian to be elected to the House of Commons of Canada.^[3][5][7] Sitsabaiesan is the first Tamil woman to be elected to any federal parliament outside India or Sri Lanka, with the exception of Indranee Rajah who is a Chindian from Singapore. She is also the first female Member of Parliament to represent Scarborough-Rouge River.^[8]

Sitsabaiesan was subsequently appointed critic for Post-Secondary Education (Human Resources and Skills Development) in the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet in the 41st Canadian Parliament.^[9]

Stance on war crime charges on Sri Lanka[link]

Rathika Sitsabaiesan said, "she will take the initiative to form an All Party Parliamentary Committee (APPC) to look into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka during the last stages of the war.^[3] She further said, she would prioritize the formation of the APPC to "research and come up with recommendations" for the Canadian government over the report by the UN Experts Panel appointed by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.^[3] Sitsabaiesan added, "For me the focus is people being treated with fairness, equality, dignity and justice... it is important for the culprits to be identified as a move towards genuine reconciliation.^[3]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Rathika Sitsabaiesan
• Rathika Sitsabaiesan - Parliament of Canada biography

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