123-728: Helena C. Guergis , PC ( / ˈ dʒ ɔːr dʒ ɪ s / JOR -jiss ; born February 19, 1969) is a Canadian politician of Assyrian descent. She represented the Ontario riding of Simcoe—Grey in the House of Commons of Canada from 2004 to 2011, and was appointed Minister of State (Status of Women) on October 30, 2008, following the October 14, 2008 Canadian federal election. Soon after starting her parliamentary career, she became involved in several controversial situations, and these increased with time in both number and severity. Guergis
246-530: A defamation lawsuit against Prime Minister Harper, as well as against several other people and organizations, including the federal Tory party, in Ontario Superior Court, over allegations of unfair treatment leading to damage to her reputation and political career. The lawsuit was dismissed from Ontario Superior Court, by Justice Charles Hackland in late August, 2012. Guergis immediately announced her intention to appeal this decision. Her appeal
369-487: A minority government after the election, and Guergis was appointed to the Conservative shadow cabinet as critic for International Co-operation. On January 24, 2005, she was appointed deputy critic for seniors' issues. When running for provincial office in 2003 in the socially liberal riding of Trinity-Spadina, Guergis said that she would vote in favour of same-sex marriage if given the opportunity. Responding to
492-717: A minority government nationally. On February 7, 2006, she was named by Prime Minister Stephen Harper as parliamentary secretary to David Emerson , the Minister of International Trade , and the Minister for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics . Guergis's appointment was somewhat controversial, in that Emerson had crossed the floor from the Liberal Party of Canada on
615-530: A public auto insurance system. As the recession worsened, the NDP implemented what it called the Social Contract – this was a package of austerity measures that: The Social Contract resulted in a major breach in the NDP's alliance with the labour movement as several trade unions turned against the party. Rae's government passed employment equity legislation and amended the province's labour law to ban
738-500: A " sacrificial lamb " candidate in order to gain experience. She finished a distant third against New Democratic Party incumbent Rosario Marchese . In 2004, Guergis endorsed Frank Klees for the leadership of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party . Guergis defeated Liberal incumbent Paul Bonwick by 100 votes in the 2004 election to win the riding of Simcoe-Grey. The Liberals formed
861-445: A "gross breach of Canadian security" that raised doubts about her fitness for Cabinet. She was re-elected in the 2008 federal election , winning 55 per cent of the popular vote, following which she was appointed Minister of State (Status of Women). On October 15, 2008, Guergis married her former caucus colleague Rahim Jaffer ; this was her second marriage and his first. Jaffer and Guergis became engaged in October 2007, and decided on
984-540: A 2004 by-election. The officers of the Ontario NDP are the leader, the party president, six vice-presidents and the treasurer. Apart from the leader, the party officers are elected at the party's biennial convention. The leader is head of the parliamentary party and leads the party caucus in the Ontario legislature and is the party's presumed candidate to lead an NDP government should the party be called upon to form
1107-604: A Privy Council meeting presided over by the governor general occurred on 15 August 1873, in which Governor General the Earl of Dufferin outlined "the terms on which he would agree to a prorogation of Parliament" during the Pacific Scandal . When he served as viceroy, John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne , put an end to the practice of the governor general presiding over Privy Council meetings, other than for ceremonial occasions. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King had
1230-548: A campaign. This issue became moot when, on 30 March 2006, NDP candidate Peter Tabuns won the by-election in the Toronto—Danforth riding by a 9% margin over the Liberals' Ben Chin , alleviating another party status crisis. The NDP scored a surprise victory over the Liberals in the late summer of that year in the riding of Parkdale—High Park . Liberal Education Minister Gerard Kennedy resigned on 5 April 2006 to run for
1353-710: A contemporary newspaper account, the conference, on 27 March, at Rideau Hall , consisted of 12 individuals, including Chief Justice Bora Laskin , who presided over the meeting; Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau ; several cabinet ministers; Stanley Knowles of the New Democratic Party ; and Alvin Hamilton of the Progressive Conservative Party . All gathered were informed of the Prince's engagement, nodded their approval, and then toasted
SECTION 10
#17327984636481476-541: A coordinated letter-writing campaign to the local media in Guergis' riding, praising the abilities and achievements of Guergis. None of the individuals disclosed their close association with the Conservative Minister. Guergis subsequently blamed Jessica Craven, her executive assistant, declaring it was not appropriate for her to send letters to media without disclosing her identity. According to CTV News ,
1599-479: A government. The Provincial Director (formerly Provincial Secretary ) is an employee of the party and manages the day to day party organization outside of the legislature. The Provincial Director is hired by the party executive with the ratification of the provincial council. The party's provincial executive is composed of the party's officers, six men and six women elected on a regional basis, three women and three men elected at large, one woman and one man elected by
1722-492: A letter of support for a company in the Green Energy sector to a local municipal politician. Guergis's husband Rahim Jaffer was seeking lobbying business from the same company at the time; further issues with Jaffer on this file concerned his not being properly registered as a lobbyist under applicable federal rules, and his employment as a lobbyist too soon after having been an MP. On December 22, 2011, Guergis launched
1845-584: A member of His Majesty's Privy Council for Canada. I will in all things to be treated, debated and resolved in Privy Council, faithfully, honestly and truly declare my mind and my opinion. I shall keep secret all matters committed and revealed to me in this capacity, or that shall be secretly treated of in Council. Generally, in all things I shall do as a faithful and true servant ought to do for His Majesty. Provincial premiers are not commonly appointed to
1968-464: A non-confidence motion and Miller resigned. When the accord expired in 1987, Premier David Peterson called an early provincial election and the Liberals were re-elected with a large majority. The NDP lost seats but emerged as the largest opposition party, with Bob Rae becoming Leader of the Opposition . Shortly before the 1990 provincial election , the governing Liberals held a solid lead in
2091-536: A number of reforms in the field of social welfare being enacted. In 1991, the Rae government increased basic social assistance rates by 7% and shelter rates by 10%. Single parents were uploaded from the municipalities and all lone parents were raised to the same income standard. In 1992 and 1993, the Rae government implemented successive increases to social assistance. Rae since joined the Liberal Party of Canada and
2214-499: A party would receive official party status , and the resources and privileges accorded to officially recognized parties, if it had 12 or more seats; thus, it initially appeared the NDP would lose caucus funding and the ability to ask questions in the House. However, the governing Progressive Conservatives changed the rules after the election to lower the threshold for party status from 12 seats to 8. The Progressive Conservatives had reduced
2337-477: A privy councillor of long standing, be given the style the Right Honourable upon his retirement from Parliament. According to Eugene Forsey , Privy Council meetings—primarily meetings of the full Cabinet or the prime minister and senior ministers, held with the governor general presiding—were not infrequent occurrences in the first 15 years following Canadian Confederation in 1867. One example of
2460-427: A question on same-sex marriage at an all-candidates debate, she said, "I believe in the right to choose, so I would be voting in favour of it." Campaigning the following year in the socially conservative riding of Simcoe-Grey, Guergis said that she would vote against the federal government's proposed legalization of same-sex marriage. She argued that the majority of her constituents opposed the initiative, and that she
2583-529: A reconstruction project. This visit, along with similar visits to sensitive war-torn regions by Canadian politicians of all parties, along with other notable Canadians, was supposed to have been kept secret for Dion's protection. After his return to Canada, Dion angrily criticized Guergis' action, saying that she put him at risk of possibly being attacked by the Taliban . In a letter to Harper, Dion demanded Guergis' resignation or firing, saying that Guergis committed
SECTION 20
#17327984636482706-417: A string of by-elections in the mid-2000s. The party maintained party status after the 2007 Ontario general election and he stepped down as leader in 2009. Andrea Horwath replaced him after she was elected leader at the 2009 leadership convention in Hamilton. Under her leadership in the 2011 Ontario general election , the party elected 17 MPPs to the legislature and in the 2014 Ontario general election ,
2829-529: A travel advisory for Mexico . Opposition members had made this request, after four Canadian tourists were killed in Mexico over the course of a year. On February 19, 2007, Guergis and Health Minister Tony Clement announced that Canada was reviving its dormant ParticipACTION program to encourage personal fitness. The Conservative government was criticized in April and May 2007, over its handling of reports on
2952-588: Is a social democratic political party in Ontario , Canada. The party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum and currently forms the Official Opposition in Ontario following the 2018 general election . It is the provincial section for the province for the federal New Democratic Party . It was formed in October 1961 from the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (Ontario Section) (Ontario CCF) and
3075-698: Is distinct but also entwined within the Privy Council, as the president of the King's Privy Council for Canada customarily serves as one of its members and Cabinet ministers receive assistance in the performance of their duties from the Privy Council Office , headed by the clerk of the Privy Council . While the Cabinet specifically deals with the regular, day-to-day functions of the King-in-Council, occasions of wider national importance—such as
3198-683: Is formally referred to as His Majesty's Government , is defined by the Canadian constitution as the sovereign acting on the advice of the Privy Council; what is known as the Governor-in-Council , referring to the governor general of Canada as the King's stand-in. The group of people is described as "a Council to aid and advise in the Government of Canada, to be styled the Queen's Privy Council for Canada", though, by convention ,
3321-523: The 1981 provincial election and Cassidy stepped down. The party's fortunes turned around under the leadership of Bob Rae . The NDP captured two by-elections at the cost of the Liberals. In late 1984, polls showed Rae's NDP ahead of the David Peterson -led Liberals. The 1985 provincial election resulted in a minority legislature: the Tories under incumbent Premier Frank Miller won 52 seats,
3444-425: The 2006 federal election . However, the Liberals reversed their position and declared that the NDP would retain party status even if they lost the upcoming Toronto—Danforth by-election. Some opposition sources believed the Liberals, mindful of their humiliating defeat to Horwath, had loosened their interpretation of the rules so that whoever ran for the NDP in Toronto—Danforth couldn't use the threat of lost status in
3567-419: The 2009 leadership election . On 7 November 2008, Andrea Horwath officially launched her campaign to win the party's leadership. Horwath advocated heavy investment in light rail. In party matters, she emphasised a closer relationship to unions and the hiring of regional organisers. The leadership election was held 6–8 March 2009. Horwath led on the first two ballots, and won on the third ballot with 60.4% of
3690-572: The 2023 leadership election . The NDP's predecessor, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), was a democratic socialist political party, founded in 1932. The Ontario CCF in turn was indirectly the successor to the 1919–23 United Farmers of Ontario – Labour coalition that formed the government in Ontario under Ernest C. Drury . As the Ontario Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (Ontario Section) under Ted Jolliffe as their first leader,
3813-493: The Federal Liberal Party leadership . The government took an unusually long time to call the by-election, waiting until 16 August to drop the writ . It turned into one of the most vicious elections in recent Ontario memory, almost on par with Jolliffe's 1945 "Gestapo" campaign . This time though, the NDP were not making the accusations; NDP candidate Cheri DiNovo 's credibility was put to the test by what most of
Helena Guergis - Misplaced Pages Continue
3936-543: The Greater Toronto Area away from the Liberals. As a result, the NDP won a large majority government of 74 seats while the Liberals suffered the worst defeat in their history. Bob Rae became Premier of Ontario during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression . In government, the NDP disappointed supporters by abandoning much of its ambitious program, including the promise to institute
4059-672: The Official Opposition Liberals, wondered how soon the government would "tell Canadians the truth." His sentiments were echoed by NDP leader Jack Layton , who called for Harper to "come clean" about why Harper went so far as to call in the RCMP, because he was ultimately responsible for his ministers. Transport Minister John Baird , speaking for the government, was reticent with further details, saying only that Harper "acted quickly and appropriately" after being tipped off by an unknown "third party." Ignatieff has also linked
4182-617: The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL). For many years, the Ontario NDP was the most successful provincial NDP branch outside the national party's western heartland. It had its first breakthrough under its first leader, Donald C. MacDonald in the 1967 provincial election , when the party elected 20 Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) to the Ontario Legislative Assembly . After the 1970 leadership convention, Stephen Lewis became leader, and guided
4305-557: The Privy Council ( PC ), is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs. Practically, the tenets of responsible government require the sovereign or his viceroy , the governor general of Canada , to almost always follow only that advice tendered by the Cabinet : a committee within the Privy Council composed usually of elected members of Parliament . Those summoned to
4428-555: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigated allegations that Guergis allowed Jaffer to conduct commercial business out of her office unrelated to her parliamentary work, after Jaffer had lost his own position as an MP, and also sometimes accompanied Jaffer to his business meetings during this period. On April 13, 2010, Guergis' former chauffeur told The Globe and Mail that Guergis frequently let Jaffer use her government-issued car for personal use when she
4551-527: The Security Intelligence Review Committee be made privy councillors, if they are not already. To date, only Prime Minister Paul Martin advised that parliamentary secretaries be admitted to the Privy Council. Appointees to the King's Privy Council must recite the requisite oath: I, [name], do solemnly and sincerely swear (declare) that I shall be a true and faithful servant to His Majesty King Charles III , as
4674-561: The Tory caucus. Guergis was defeated while running as an independent in the 2011 election by Kellie Leitch , her replacement as the riding's Conservative candidate. On December 22, 2011, Guergis launched a defamation lawsuit against Prime Minister Stephen Harper and several other people and organizations, including the federal Conservative Party, filed in Ontario Superior Court, over accusations of unfair and malicious treatment causing damage to her political career and reputation. Her lawsuit
4797-543: The 30-day time limit required for MPs. Guergis had purchased an Ottawa home with her husband Rahim Jaffer in November 2009. Guergis said "I simply forgot and I accept responsibility for this oversight, I have already made arrangements to pay the fine – within the 30 days I was provided to do so." In July 2011, Mary Dawson further found Guergis contravened two sections of the MP Conflict of Interest code, by writing
4920-565: The Barrie Literacy Council, and was a Crisis Intervention volunteer for the Barrie and District Rape Crisis Centre for seven years. Guergis was a constituency assistant and executive assistant to Progressive Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Joe Tascona during this period. Guergis closed her consumer retail business after six-and-a-half years, to accept a political adviser's position with Janet Ecker , who
5043-660: The CCF's Bill Temple won in High Park , even though the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario won another majority government. The breaking point for the Ontario CCF came in 1951. They were reduced to two MPP's in that year's provincial election , and never really recovered. In the two remaining elections while it existed, the party never had more than five members in the legislature. Jolliffe resigned as leader in 1953. Donald C. MacDonald became leader in 1953, and spent
Helena Guergis - Misplaced Pages Continue
5166-535: The Canadian Cabinet, and other eminent Canadians. These appointments ended under Lester Pearson , though the traditional style remained in use, limited to only prime ministers and chief justices. In 1992, several eminent privy councillors, most of whom were long-retired from active politics, were granted the style by the Governor General and, in 2002, Jean Chrétien recommended that Herb Gray ,
5289-739: The Canadian Privy Council so as to illustrate the separation between Canada's Crown and that of the UK. The Council has assembled in the presence of the sovereign on two occasions: The first was at 10:00 a.m. on the Thanksgiving Monday of 1957, at the monarch's residence in Ottawa , Rideau Hall . There, Queen Elizabeth II chaired a meeting of 22 of her privy councilors, including her consort , by then titled as Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whom Elizabeth had just appointed to
5412-568: The Commons ethics commissioner Mary Dawson to investigate allegations about Guergis. Harper stated that pending the results of the investigation, Guergis would leave the Conservative caucus and sit as an independent. Guergis maintained at the time that she had no knowledge of what she was being accused of. Opposition MPs pressed the government for more details about the allegations, citing Harper's previous willingness to defend her. At Question Period on April 12, 2010, Michael Ignatieff , leader of
5535-521: The Crown. In addition, the chief justices of Canada and former governors general are appointed. From time to time, the leader of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition and heads of other opposition parties will be appointed to the Privy Council, either as an honour or to facilitate the distribution of sensitive information under the Security of Information Act and, similarly, it is required by law that those on
5658-964: The Federal Conservative Party, who felt her actions hurt the party. CBC 's TV news anchor Peter Mansbridge went to an airport security headquarters office in Ottawa with Guergis to view the tapes of the alleged incident. Mansbridge described it as "pretty tame stuff." At no time does she throw her boots. Nor does she wave her arms around, he said. "I can tell you I have seen a lot worse on most of my trips through Canadian airports of people being upset about what they were being put through," Mansbridge said. Several people—including Guergis’ executive assistant Jessica Craven, Craven's mother Dawn Richards, constituency office staff member Valerie Knight, former Simcoe—Grey riding association president Paul Shaw, and Bonnie Ainsworth, an assistant to Guergis’ colleague MP Patrick Brown – allegedly engaged in
5781-581: The House of Commons Government Operations Committee in Ottawa in May 2010, he said he had no incriminating evidence regarding Guergis. "I have nothing – I have no evidence, or no information, with respect to conduct of Ms. Guergis in my possession or knowledge," he said. The RCMP would echo Snowdy on July 21, 2010, in saying there was no evidence to indicate criminal actions by Guergis. It was also announced that they were ceasing their investigations of Rahim Jaffer. Guergis's lawyer, Howard Rubel, also stated that Guergis
5904-468: The KPC are appointed for life by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister of Canada , meaning that the group is composed predominantly of former Cabinet ministers, with some others having been inducted as an honorary gesture. Those in the council are accorded the use of an honorific style and post-nominal letters, as well as various signifiers of precedence. The Government of Canada , which
6027-573: The Legislative Assembly. At the 2018 provincial election , the ONDP ended 23 years of third party status, winning 40 seats to become the official opposition–the party's best showing since winning government in 1990. Notably, they took all of Old Toronto (i. e., what was the city of Toronto before the 1999 amalgamation of Metro Toronto) and took eight seats in northern Ontario. They also took all but one seat each in Hamilton and Niagara. At
6150-457: The Liberals won 48, and the NDP 25. The New Democrats entered negotiations with both the Tories and the Liberals. The NDP signed a two-year accord with the Liberals, in which the Liberals would form government with the NDP's support in exchange for the implementation of a number of NDP policies. This was not a coalition government as the NDP declined an offer to sit in Cabinet, preferring to remain in opposition. The governing Tories were defeated by
6273-505: The McGuinty government for not soliciting competitive bids for green energy projects, and pledged to have a public bidding process where preference is given to local providers. Horwath distanced the ONDP from former Premier Bob Rae, then the interim leader of the federal Liberal Party of Canada , by pointing out that he is the exception to the rule of NDP Premiers in other provinces who have been able to balance provincial budgets. At
SECTION 50
#17327984636486396-459: The NDP continued its string of recent by-election successes by taking away another Liberal stronghold. On 8 February 2007, Paul Ferreira narrowly defeated Liberal candidate Laura Albanese by 358 votes , or 2%. This victory increased the NDP caucus' seat total to ten, up by three since the October 2003 general election. In the 2007 provincial election , the party increased its share of the popular vote by two percent but did not make any gains in
6519-425: The NDP ran an all-out campaign to win the seat, aided by the city's large base of unionized steelworkers . On election night, Horwath took 63.8 per cent of the vote in the seat, bringing the NDP back to eight seats in the legislature and allowing them to regain official party status. The Ontario NDP's representation in the legislature was again reduced to seven seats when Marilyn Churley resigned her seat to run in
6642-587: The Official Opposition with 38 seats and 29% of the vote. However, the Tories retained power as a minority government. Hopes were high that the NDP was on the verge of taking power, but in the 1977 provincial election , the Tories under Bill Davis again won a minority government. The NDP lost five seats, and slipped into third place behind the Ontario Liberal Party . A frustrated Lewis resigned shortly afterwards. Michael Cassidy
6765-983: The Prime Minister's Office to us," for which Gillani has apologized, saying Jaffer never used those words. Gillani had apparently claimed he was a banker for the Hells Angels motorcycle gang, and was under police investigation at the time for suspected underworld connections. Later that night, Jaffer was picked up for speeding by the Ontario Provincial Police near his wife's riding, arrested, and charged with impaired driving and cocaine possession; he subsequently pleaded guilty to careless driving and had his licence suspended. The cocaine possession and impaired driving charges were later dropped. CTV News reported that Prime Minister Harper forced Guergis to resign from Cabinet and suspended her from caucus, after private investigator Derek Snowdy, who
6888-469: The Privy Council at that same meeting. The Queen also approved an order-in-council. Two years later, the Privy Council again met before the Queen, this time in Halifax, Nova Scotia , to confirm the appointment of Georges Vanier as governor general. There was originally some speculation that the coming together of the sovereign and her Council was not constitutionally sound. However, the Prime Minister at
7011-534: The Privy Council convene in 1947 to consent to the marriage of Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II ) to Philip Mountbatten , per the Royal Marriages Act 1772 . The Princess' father, King George VI , had offered an invitation for Mackenzie King to attend when the Privy Council of the United Kingdom met for the same purpose. But, the Prime Minister declined and held the meeting of
7134-494: The Privy Council, but have been made members on special occasions, such as the centennial of Confederation in 1967 and the patriation of the constitution of Canada in 1982. On Canada Day in 1992, which also marked the 125th anniversary of Canadian Confederation , Governor General Ramon Hnatyshyn appointed 18 prominent Canadians to the Privy Council, including the former Premier of Ontario David Peterson , retired hockey star Maurice Richard , and businessman Conrad Black (who
7257-468: The Privy Council. The first non-Canadian sworn of the council was Billy Hughes , Prime Minister of Australia , who was inducted on 18 February 1916, at the request of Robert Borden —to honour a visiting head of government, but also so that Hughes could attend Cabinet meetings on wartime policy. Similarly, Winston Churchill , Prime Minister of the United Kingdom , was inducted during a visit to Canada on 29 December 1941. Privy councillors are entitled to
7380-481: The Tories would be defeated. This voting practice did do damage to the NDP's electoral fortunes because it was interpreted as a call for blanket support for Liberal candidates over NDP candidates, with no real thought to which candidate had a better chance to defeat a PC in any individual riding. Several unions, such as the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW), promoted strategic voting to their membership and
7503-414: The alarm as she walked through the metal detector. When Guergis was asked again to take off her footwear, she was allegedly rude and uncooperative. On February 25, 2010, Guergis issued an apology for the airport incident by news release. During the week of March 15, 2010, Guergis claimed that she had grounds for legal action against Air Canada, for violation of her privacy. Guergis was criticized by members of
SECTION 60
#17327984636487626-533: The alleged mistreatment of prisoners captured by Canadian soldiers and turned over to local authorities in Afghanistan . At one stage, Guergis stated in response to an opposition question in Parliament that "The NATO commander has confirmed and has said that he sees no evidence to back up any allegations that are being made by the Taliban alleged terrorist detainees. The hon[orable] member continues to take
7749-534: The association stated "head office personnel have deliberately interfered with, obstructed and circumvented our autonomy as an association, and our right to freely express our opinions" if Harper had taken action to remove Guergis. On September 14, 2010 the Toronto Star reported Dr. Kellie Leitch planned to run for the Conservative nomination in Simcoe-Grey. Leitch subsequently won the nomination. Guergis
7872-415: The beneficiaries of the NDP's unpopularity, but their poor campaign saw the momentum swing to the resurgent Tories under Mike Harris , who vaulted from third in the legislature to win a large majority. The NDP fell down to 17 seats, third place in the Legislative Assembly. In 1996, Rae stepped down as party leader and resigned his seat in the legislature. Despite these shortcomings, the Rae years did witness
7995-708: The ceremony. On June 16, 2010, Jaffer excused his absence from a parliamentary committee hearing, which was being convened to look into allegations of his misconduct, by disclosing that Guergis was pregnant. On February 19, 2010, Guergis was alleged to have had a verbal confrontation with Air Canada and Charlottetown Airport security staff while attempting to board an Air Canada Jazz flight to Montreal . According to an anonymous letter allegedly from an airport employee, Guergis arrived with an aide very late for her flight to Montreal, and publicly berated airport staff and security. During pre-boarding airport screening, Guergis reportedly refused to remove her footwear, which set off
8118-464: The conventional "treaty" laid out in the preamble to the 1931 Statute of Westminster . Following the announcement of the Prince of Wales' engagement to Camilla Parker-Bowles , however, the Department of Justice announced its conclusion that the Privy Council was not required to meet to give its approval to the marriage, as the union would not result in offspring that would impact the succession to
8241-460: The day. The quorum for Privy Council meetings is four. The Constitution Act, 1867 , outlines that persons are to be summoned and appointed for life to the King's Privy Council by the governor general, though convention dictates that this be done on the advice of the sitting prime minister. As its function is to provide the vehicle for advising the Crown, the members of the Privy Council are predominantly all living current and former ministers of
8364-550: The events to organized crime , due to the reports of cocaine being present: "I don’t want to make false accusations but you don’t get cocaine at a corner drug store, right? You have to get it from somewhere, from someone and usually that means organized crime". Some people have expressed concern that Guergis's right to due process (innocent until proven guilty) has been infringed upon. On The Michael Coren Show , commentator Akaash Maharaj , former Liberal and Independent MP John Nunziata , and host Coren himself voiced opposition to
8487-489: The issue, while the Globe and Mail reported that Snowdy had filed for bankruptcy in 2009 to cover over $ 13 million of debt, including $ 2 million of taxes owed. On April 9, 2010, Guergis resigned her post as Minister of State for Status of Women, and she was expelled from the Conservative caucus . In announcing the resignation and expulsion, PM Harper also said that he had asked both the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and
8610-714: The judge rejected this argument and ordered that the suit could proceed. Guergis announced in the spring of 2012 that she had moved to Edmonton , Alberta and that she had been accepted to study law at the University of Alberta. She began her law studies in September 2012. She graduated with her Juris Doctor degree in November 2017. Source: Elections Canada King%27s Privy Council for Canada The King's Privy Council for Canada ( French : Conseil privé du Roi pour le Canada ), sometimes called His Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply
8733-406: The late 1980s. Ontario NDP support fell even further in the 1999 provincial election , leaving the party with just nine seats. However, this was largely due to tactical voting in which NDP supporters voted Liberal in hopes of removing Harris and the Tories from power. As a result, Hampton was not blamed for this severe defeat and stayed on as leader. Under the rules of the Legislative Assembly,
8856-565: The leadership review held in June 2019 during a policy convention, Horwath received support from 84% of delegates. Horwath resigned after the party lost seats in the 2022 Ontario general election . Peter Tabuns was chosen interim leader on June 28, 2022. After the interim leadership of Peter Tabuns , Marit Stiles was declared Ontario NDP leader by a majority vote at an event in Downtown Toronto on February 4, 2023. The party
8979-643: The legislature, with the loss of Paul Ferreira in York South—Weston being offset by the victory of Paul Miller in Hamilton East—Stoney Creek . France Gélinas also successfully retained the riding of Nickel Belt , following the retirement of Shelley Martel . The other eight NDP ridings were all retained by their incumbent MPPs. Early polling in September 2006 showed the party with 27% support, its highest recorded level since 1992. By early 2007 support had fallen to 17% support, further behind
9102-419: The legislature. The Liberals were re-elected with a minority government giving Horwath's NDP the balance of power in the legislature. At an automatic leadership review held at the party's provincial convention in April 2012, 76.4% of delegates voted in favour of Horwath's continued leadership. In September 2012, NDP candidate Catherine Fife won a by-election in the riding of Kitchener—Waterloo after
9225-440: The media considered to be unworthy and underhanded personal attacks launched by the Liberals. The tactic backfired; on 14 September 2006, DiNovo defeated Liberal candidate – and incumbent Toronto city councillor – Sylvia Watson by taking 41% of the popular vote to Watson's 33%. In the riding of York South—Weston , adjacent to Parkdale—High Park and once the seat of former leaders Bob Rae, Donald C. MacDonald and Ted Jolliffe,
9348-509: The monarch's family have been appointed to the Privy Council: Prince Edward (later King Edward VIII ), appointed by his father, King George V , on 2 August 1927; Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh , appointed by his wife, Queen Elizabeth II , on 14 October 1957; and Prince Charles (now King Charles III ), appointed by his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on 18 May 2014. On occasion, non-Canadians have been appointed to
9471-493: The morning after the election to scrap their planned wedding date and to get married immediately. Jaffer, who had served as an MP since 1997 at the age of 25, lost his own Alberta seat, Edmonton—Strathcona , in the election. Their wedding was presided over by Ian McClelland , a former Member of Parliament and a licensed marriage commissioner, later that same day at McClelland's home. The couple's parliamentary colleague James Rajotte , along with one of Jaffer's cousins, witnessed
9594-474: The natural justice that we would expect to give to ordinary Canadians." Apps continued, "He's (Stephen Harper) basically taken onto himself, on the basis of serious and credible allegations – and there's no evidence yet that they were either serious or credible." Further, Apps said, "She has the right to know specifically the allegations against her; she has the right to be heard and answer to those allegations." However, Conservative MP Shelly Glover said Harper did
9717-457: The newly elected NDP executive officially took over. The Ontario NDP gradually picked up seats through the 1960s. It achieved a breakthrough in the 1967 provincial election , when its popular vote rose from 15% to 26%. The party increased its presence in the legislature from 8 to 20 seats. In that election the party ran on the themes of the cost of living, tax distribution, education costs, Canadian unity, and housing. Stephen Lewis took over
9840-726: The next fifteen years rebuilding the party, from two seats when he took over the party's helm, to ten times that number when he stepped down in 1970. Delegates from the Ontario CCF, delegates from affiliated union locals, and delegates from New Party Clubs took part in the founding convention of the New Democratic Party of Ontario held in Niagara Falls at the Sheraton Brock hotel from 7–9 October 1961 and elected MacDonald as their leader. The Ontario CCF Council ceased to exist formally on Sunday, 8 October 1961, when
9963-446: The official televised leaders' debate, her political rivals criticized the ONDP's handling of the economy in the early 1990s, but Horwath further distanced the New Democratic Party from Mr. Rae by pointing out his current allegiance to the federal Liberals as interim leader of the (federal) Liberal Party . Her campaign largely refrained from mudslinging and personal attacks, and she led her party to an increase from 10 seats to 17 seats in
10086-405: The party elected 21 MPPs. Under Horwath, the party achieved its second highest seat count (other than forming government in 1990) when it formed the Official Opposition with 40 MPPs after the 2018 Ontario general election . This dropped to 31 MPPs after the 2022 Ontario general election , with Horwath announcing her resignation as leader. Marit Stiles replaced her after she was acclaimed leader at
10209-542: The party has largely repudiated Rae's policies and renewed its commitment to a moderate form of socialism. Shortly after the 1999 provincial election , Hampton cited the Swedish model of social democracy as closely reflecting his own beliefs. However, the party has never fully healed the breach with organized labour that resulted from the Social Contract, nor has it been able to regain the popularity it enjoyed in
10332-409: The party nearly won the 1943 provincial election , winning 34 seats and forming the official opposition for the first time. Two-years later, they would be reduced to 8 seats. The final glory for the Ontario CCF came in the 1948 provincial election , when party elected 21 MPPs, and again formed the official opposition. They were even able to defeat Premier George A. Drew in his own constituency, when
10455-401: The party through three elections. Hampton's period as leader saw the ONDP lose official party status twice: after the 1999 and 2003 elections . He was able to regain party status the first time after the governing Progressive Conservatives revised party status requirements in accordance with that election's reduction in the number of seats in the legislature, and the second time after winning
10578-437: The party to Official Opposition status in 1975, the first time since the Ontario CCF did it twice in the 1940s. After the party's disappointing performance in the 1977 provincial election , that included losing second party status, Lewis stepped down and Michael Cassidy was elected leader in 1978. Cassidy led the party through one campaign, the 1981 election . The party did poorly again, and Cassidy resigned. In 1982, Bob Rae
10701-419: The party's leadership in 1970, and the NDP's popularity continued to grow. With the 1975 provincial election , the governing Progressive Conservative party was reduced to a minority government for the first time in thirty years. The charismatic and dynamic Lewis ran a strong election campaign that forced the Tories to promise to implement the NDP's rent control policies. The NDP overtook the Liberals to become
10824-431: The polls, though their popularity had tailed off from 1987. However, Peterson's government was soon mired in scandals and many regarded the early election call as cynical. Under Rae, the NDP ran a strong campaign, which was also aided by a successful showing for federal New Democratic Party a couple years earlier. Although the NDP finished only three percentage points ahead of the Liberals, they managed to take many seats in
10947-419: The proclamation of a new Canadian sovereign following a demise of the Crown or conferring on royal marriages—will be attended to by more senior officials in the Privy Council, such as the prime minister, the chief justice of Canada , and other senior statesmen; though all privy councillors are invited to such meetings in theory, in practice, the composition of the gathering is determined by the prime minister of
11070-399: The public, which further added to the party's woes. The newly elected Liberal government offered to give the NDP caucus research funding if their members agreed to sit as independents. Hampton refused and disrupted the government Throne Speech in protest. The first by-election in the 38th Legislative Assembly of Ontario , was in the riding of Hamilton East , caused by the untimely death of
11193-663: The resignation of former Progressive Conservative MPP Elizabeth Witmer . Fife's victory increased the ONDP caucus to a total of 18 seats in the provincial legislature. Further by-election victories in ridings formerly held by the Liberals included Peggy Sattler in London West and Percy Hatfield in Windsor—Tecumseh in August 2013, and Wayne Gates in Niagara Falls . This increased the ONDP caucus to 21 members in
11316-427: The riding's MPP, Dominic Agostino , on 24 March 2004. This tragic event, in conjunction with a recent and unpopular tax increase by the Liberals, provided the NDP with an opportunity to regain party status. A by-election was called for 13 May 2004, in which the new Liberal candidate, Agostino's brother Ralph, was challenged by NDP candidate Andrea Horwath , a Hamilton city councillor. In a fight for its political life,
11439-539: The right thing in expelling Guergis. According to Glover: "These were serious allegations that were brought forward to the prime minister, and frankly he did the right thing. He is the prime minister of the country and we need to maintain confidence in all the people working for him." When Derek Snowdy, the Toronto-based private investigator involved in the Guergis-Jaffer political affair, testified before
11562-534: The royal couple with champagne . David Brown, an official in the Privy Council Office, told The Globe and Mail that, had the Privy Council rejected the Prince of Wales' engagement, none of his children would have been considered legitimate heirs to the Canadian throne , thus setting up a potential break in the unified link to the crown of each of the Commonwealth realms , in contradiction to
11685-496: The same day that he received his cabinet position. One day prior to her appointment, Guergis informed the media that she would issue a press release indicating her continued support for anti-floor-crossing legislation. The release never appeared. On January 4, 2007, Guergis joined the federal Cabinet when she was promoted to the dual positions of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and Secretary of State for Sport. In February, she rejected opposition calls for
11808-483: The size of the legislature, so provincial ridings now had the same boundaries as the federal ones, and so the official party status threshold was lowered. Some suggested that the Tories helped the NDP so they could continue to split the vote with the Liberals, although the Progressive Conservatives had stated before the election campaign even began that reducing official party status to eight seats
11931-787: The style the Honourable (French: L'honorable ) or, for the prime minister, chief justice, or certain other eminent individuals, the Right Honourable (French: Le très honorable ) and the post-nominal letters PC (in French: CP ). Prior to 1967, the style the Right Honourable was only employed in Canada by those appointed to the Imperial Privy Council in London , such persons usually being prime ministers, Supreme Court chief justices, certain senior members of
12054-537: The task of giving the sovereign and governor general advice (in the construct of constitutional monarchy and responsible government , this is typically binding ) on how to exercise the royal prerogative via orders-in-council rests with the Cabinet—a committee of the Privy Council made up of other ministers of the Crown who are drawn from, and responsible to, the House of Commons in the Parliament . This body
12177-401: The televised leaders' debate. Despite Hampton's debate performance and a 2.4% increase in the popular vote, the party lost two seats, once again losing official party status and their previous speaking privileges and funding. One of the problems that likely affected NDP support was strategic voting, not unlike that of the 1999 election. Dozens of NDP voters voted Liberal in order to ensure that
12300-449: The throne. To mark the occasion of her Ruby Jubilee , Queen Elizabeth II, on Canada Day , 1992, presided over the swearing in of new members of her Privy Council. The most recent formal meeting of the Privy Council was on 10 September 2022, for the proclamation of the accession of King Charles III . Ontario New Democratic Party The Ontario New Democratic Party ( ONDP ; French: Nouveau Parti démocratique de l'Ontario )
12423-410: The time, John Diefenbaker , found no legal impropriety in the idea and desired to create a physical illustration of Elizabeth's position of Queen of Canada being separate to that of Queen of the United Kingdom. A formal meeting of the Privy Council was held in 1981 to give formal consent to the marriage of Prince Charles, Prince of Wales (now King Charles III ), to Lady Diana Spencer . According to
12546-496: The two front-running parties but still slightly ahead of the party's 15% result in the 2003 election. September 2007 polling had the NDP at 14%, while the 29 September Ipsos poll had them at 17%, meaning that NDP's support had been constant for a year within the margin of error. Though the same Ipsos poll suggested that the NDP would elect 12 members to the legislature, the party would eventually elect only 10. On 14 June 2008, Hampton announced he would be stepping down as leader at
12669-516: The use of replacement workers during strikes, but this did not win back union support. At one point, the NDP fell to a low of six percent support in polling. An ominous sign for the party came in the 1993 federal election . All 10 of the federal NDP's Ontario MPs lost their seats to Liberal Party of Canada challengers by large margins. It was obvious by the 1995 provincial election that Rae's government would not be re-elected. The official opposition Ontario Liberals under Lyn McLeod were initially
12792-541: The vote. In the lead-up to the 2011 election, Horwath began to campaign on tax incentives for businesses that create jobs in the province, making investments that improve health-care wait times, and cutting the Harmonized Sales Tax from necessities such as home-heating and gas. Instead of providing broad corporate tax cuts, Horwath would have focused on tax cuts for small businesses and companies that make investments in Ontario. Her campaign also criticized
12915-474: The way Guergis was being treated. "Whatever happened to due process in this country?" Nunziata said. On May 16, 2010 Alfred Apps , Canada's Liberal party president, said Guergis was treated unfairly by PM Stephen Harper. "This whole Guergis situation is what I hope will become a big wakeup call to Canadians," Apps said. "We treat our public servants … with just horrific disrespect these days and then we go on and treat our members (of Parliament), we don't give them
13038-511: The word of the Taliban detainees over our brave Canadian men and women and that is truly unfortunate." The matter expanded into a full-blown controversy several months later, when it became clear that evidence of Afghan detainee mistreatment had been covered up, and it has retained Parliament's interest to the present day. In January 2008, Guergis revealed that opposition leader Stéphane Dion would be traveling to Kandahar , Afghanistan, to visit
13161-592: Was a reeve of Essa from 1971 to 1974. Both David and Tony Guergis lost in landslide defeats in their bids for re-election in 2010 . Guergis attended Georgian College in Barrie, where she completed an Ontario Real Estate program. After her graduation, she opened a bed-and-bath gift shop called "Final Touch" at the Rainbow Mall in Angus. She also worked as a fundraising volunteer for the Angus Food Bank and
13284-538: Was an unsuccessful candidate for party leadership in December 2006 and December 2008, but went on to serve as interim leader following Michael Ignatieff's resignation in 2011 until Justin Trudeau was chosen in 2013. Rae was succeeded by Bud Wildman as interim leader in 1996, until Howard Hampton defeated Frances Lankin , a member of Rae's inner circle, for the party leadership that same year. Under Hampton,
13407-422: Was called it looked like the Liberals would win a second majority government). The victory produced the first NDP provincial government east of Manitoba . But it took power just when Canada's economy was in a recession, and as a result of unpopular economic and social policies it was defeated in 1995. Rae stepped down as leader in 1996. Howard Hampton was elected leader in at the 1996 Hamilton convention, and led
13530-476: Was committed to supporting their views. Guergis did in fact vote against Bill C-38 , which granted legal sanction to same-sex marriage, in 2005. In the same year, she tabled a private member's bill restricting MPs from crossing parties after their election. Guergis was re-elected with 49.8 per cent of the vote in the 2006 election , substantially increasing her margin of victory as the Conservatives won
13653-525: Was elected leader, but being the most left-wing of the three leadership candidates, he was not fully trusted by the party establishment. Cassidy's policy advisor in the leadership campaign was James Laxer , a former leader of The Waffle NDP faction which Lewis had expelled from the party in 1972. Some members of the NDP caucus considered Cassidy's election as a serious mistake, and encouraged him to resign before contesting an election. Cassidy ignored this advice, and remained as leader. The NDP declined further in
13776-400: Was elected leader. Under his leadership, in 1985, the party held the balance-of-power with the signing of an accord with the newly elected Ontario Liberal Party minority government. After the 1987 Ontario general election , the ONDP became the Official Opposition again. The 1990 Ontario general election surprisingly produced the ONDP's breakthrough first government in 1990 (when the election
13899-528: Was forced to resign from the Cabinet of Canada and leave the Conservative Party caucus on April 9, 2010, pending a Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigation into "serious" but unspecified allegations regarding her conduct. While the RCMP investigated, and eventually concluded there was no evidence of criminal wrongdoing, Guergis continued to sit as an Independent Conservative in the House of Commons. She applied unsuccessfully for reinstatement to
14022-427: Was investigating Gillani on an unrelated matter, claimed that Gillani had made some verbal accusations about Guergis and Jaffer. Guergis denied the allegations against her; her lawyer stated that she "vigorously denies all of this man's bizarre claims, and looks forward to helping the RCMP demonstrate that they are completely false". Gillani also denied Snowdy's claim in testimony before the Commons committee investigating
14145-541: Was involved in an automobile accident in August 2010, but emerged uninjured. Guergis sought to rejoin the Conservative caucus after being cleared by the RCMP, but was rejected. She stated she would run as an Independent candidate in the next federal election. Her independent candidacy led to a third-place finish in the May 2011 election, when she gained only 13.5 per cent of the vote. On May 20, 2010, Federal Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson fined Guergis $ 100 for failing to report details of an $ 800,000 mortgage liability within
14268-531: Was known as the Ontario section of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation until the New Democratic Party's founding convention on 8 October 1961, at which point Donald C. MacDonald ceased to be the CCF leader and became the Ontario NDP leader. Results include those of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). The CCF essentially became the New Democratic Party (NDP) on 8 October 1961. Regained official party status after
14391-588: Was later dismissed. Guergis was born in Barrie, Ontario ; and raised in nearby Angus , part of Essa Township , where her family has a history of political work. Her cousins David and Tony Guergis were the mayors of Essa and Springwater , her sister Christine Brayford was a municipal councillor in New Tecumseth , their uncle Edward was a municipal councillor in Essa from 1978 to 1985, and their grandfather George
14514-461: Was later expelled from the Privy Council by the Governor General on the advice of Prime Minister Stephen Harper ). The use of Privy Council appointments as purely an honour was not employed again until 6 February 2006, when Harper advised the Governor General to appoint former member of Parliament John Reynolds , along with the new Cabinet . Harper, on 15 October 2007, also advised Governor General Michaëlle Jean to appoint Jim Abbott . Members of
14637-489: Was not interviewed nor asked any questions, and "that speaks volumes." On May 5, 2010, the Conservative Party's National Council removed Guergis as their nominated candidate for Simcoe—Grey. Earlier in the week local Conservatives in the riding wrote a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper asking that he not interfere with the local Conservative riding association's process of choosing a candidate. Executives of
14760-565: Was not using it. The Toronto Star reported that Jaffer, then still an MP, accompanied Guergis on an official trip to Belize , according to pictures posted on a Canadian government website; this was some three months before their October 2008 marriage. The Globe and Mail reported that Guergis and Jaffer had dinner in September 2009 with Nazim Gillani, a Toronto financier. A few days earlier, Gillani and Jaffer had gone to dinner together—but without Guergis—and Gillani subsequently wrote an "over-enthusiastic" email saying that Jaffer had "opened
14883-654: Was part of the seat reduction plan from the very beginning. In the 2003 election , the party emphasized their "Public Power Campaign", which had two key issues, primarily publicly owned electricity generation and distribution, and publicly run auto insurance. As well, the Public Power Campaign also dealt with rolling-back the social program cuts from the Harris government's Common Sense Revolution . Many media outlets – including The Globe and Mail – thought that party leader Howard Hampton performed strongly in
15006-459: Was rejected by the Court of Appeal for Ontario in June, 2013. In the summer of 2013, Guergis filed an amended statement of claim against Snowdy, Glover, the lawyer who had represented Harper in the original lawsuit, and his lawfirm. A lawyer representing Glover and Harper argued that the case should be placed on hold until Guergis had paid the legal costs that had been awarded in the earlier suit, but
15129-748: Was then Minister of Education and Finance in the Ontario Progressive Conservative government of Premier Mike Harris . She held this position for three-and-a-half years, and also served three terms as a vice-president on the Progressive Conservative Party's provincial executive. She was the Progressive Conservative candidate for the downtown Toronto riding of Trinity—Spadina in the 2003 provincial election . The PCs did not target this riding as winnable, and Guergis agreed to be
#647352