Leo Housakos

Leo Housakos (born Leonidas Housakos on January 10, 1968) is a Canadian politician of Greek descent and a Conservative member of the Canadian Senate.^[1]

An avid student of the Canadian political system, Montreal-born Leo Housakos has been actively involved in Canada’s political and business sectors for over twenty-five years.

Mr. Housakos was appointed to the Canadian Senate by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on December 22, 2008.

Mr. Housakos’ varied experience in the business world includes the presidency of Terrau Inc., a company specializing in composting, the presidency of Quadvision International, a company which focuses upon communications and strategic planning and the vice-presidency, Sales at Constant Laboratories, a company specializing in the development and sales of industrial chemical products. He was also a member of the North America Advisory Board for the Alexander Proudfoot Company, an organization specializing in the productivity of corporations.

Senator Housakos’ passion for public policy and service was evident very early in his life as he became involved with the youth wing of the Progressive Conservative Party at the age of sixteen.

This commitment to public policy continued to develop after he graduated from McGill University with a Bachelor of Arts in 1992 and worked as a ministerial staffer in the Ministry of Multiculturalism with the Honorable Gerry Weiner. Soon after, he became involved with the Hellenic Congress of Quebec and served two terms as its Vice-President, National Issues between 1998 and 2000, where he continued to expand upon his already impressive record of community activism.

Feeling frustrated with the Liberals taking the cultural communities for granted, and with a burning passion to serve Canadians, Senator Housakos decided to become a candidate for the Canadian Alliance in 2000, in the riding of Laval Ouest, where he has lived for over twenty years.^[2][3]

He also co-founded the Hellenic Board of Trade in 1993, an organization dedicated to the development of business opportunities and networking in the Greater Montreal Area. The Hellenic Board of Trade is a member of the Board of Trade of Greater Montreal and his work with this organization allowed Mr. Housakos to focus upon municipal issues as he eventually became an advisor to the Mayor of Montreal between 2001-2002.

His political experience also includes the presidency of the fundraising commission of the Action Démocratique du Québec, demonstrating a well-balanced resume at all levels of Canadian politics. His skills in the realms of business, politics and community activism led to his appointment, in 2007, to the Board of Directors of Via Rail where he served the interests of Canadians until 2008.

Personal life

He is married to Demi Papapanagiotou for over 19 years and is the father of two children, Peter and Tasso.

A Digital Plan for Canada

Canada has a proud history in telecommunications with the CBC, in 1978, becoming the first broadcaster in the world to use an orbiting satellite for television service, thus linking Canada "from east to west to north”, (3) and being the first country in the world to connect all its schools to the Internet, and further leading the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development member countries in the deployment and uptake of broadband.^[4]

With over twenty countries^[5] in the world having a comprehensive national digital strategy, and Canada having none, the Senate Committee on Transport and Communications, in June 2010, of which Senator Housakos was deputy chair, produced a ground-breaking and a far-reaching report called A Plan for Digital Canada.

Some of its objectives included access to high-speed Internet, the nation-building role of wireless, the pace of the adoption of innovations, and Canada’s development of the sector in comparison to the performance in other countries.

The committee made two fact-finding missions to Europe, where it entertained over seventy officials who shared their expertise and their view of a digital world. It also held twenty-two meetings in Ottawa, hearing from expert witnesses such as government, academic and other experts; representatives of high-tech companies; wireless service providers – national incumbents, regional providers and new entrants – consumer advocates and groups with focused concerns, such as digital literacy and privacy.

The report produced 18 recommendations, some of which called for:

o A Minister for Digital Policy, thus ensuring the implementation of the national digital strategy; o Digital services to be brought to all citizens, thereby ensuring universal access for all citizens, by having the government using all the proceeds from spectrum auctions to provide high-speed Internet (broadband) access for both rural and remote areas; o Cabinet meetings being paperless; o The Minister for Digital Policy should work with his ministerial colleagues to develop a secure Internet platform that would allow citizens to review their government files over the Internet; o Further fostering Canada’s democratic tradition by empowering Elections Canada to move expeditiously to develop major test projects involving e-Registration and e-Voting.

Commenting on the release of the report, Senator Housakos said, “We need a multi-targeted policy approach to prepare the way for a digital society. We need a principal of true universality to avoid the creation of ‘information haves’ and ‘information have-nots’.”^[6] NDP industry critic Brian Masse welcomed the report, insisting a national digital policy was overdue for Canadians and contained many ideas his party wants to explore further.^[7]

Public Positions – Public Statements – Published Articles

Breaking ranks with his party in September 2011, Senator Housakos was the first Conservative Party Parliamentarian to openly and publicly oppose the nomination of unilingual Michael Ferguson as Auditor General of Canada, stating, “there are certain positions in the federal government that are so symbolic to what Canada is all about and I just believe they have to be filled by people who are functionally bilingual.”^[8] Arguing that the appointment sets a dangerous precedent that threatens bilingualism in Canada, Mr. Housakos further added, “I think that bilingualism is so fundamental to this country, not just from the point of view of national unity, but I think it’s a tool that should be used as a positive attribute, both in terms of our diplomatic strategies and our commercial strategies around the world.”^[9] This may have led the New Democratic Party, Official Opposition in Parliament, to propose a bill where all officers of Parliament, auditor general, the chief electoral officer, the commissioner of official languages, the privacy commissioner, the information commissioner, the senate ethics officer, the conflict of interest and ethics commissioner, the commissioner of lobbying, the public sector integrity commissioner, and the president of the public service commission, would be required to be proficient in both official languages of Canada.^[10] The Conservative government later endorsed the bill.

In October 2012, Senator Housakos published The Challenges of Integration and Multiculturalism, where he voices concerns regarding the difficulties recent immigrants have had in being both accepted and integrated within North American society and, more specifically, the challenges the Muslim communities have had in a post 911 reality.^[11][12] In order to ensure social harmony, quick integration and acceptance within Canadian society, he argues that the Canadian government should provide prospective new immigrants a clear understanding of the norms and values of their adoptive new home, because Canada is a country based on the separation of Church and state and the equality of men and women.

Immigration authorities in embassies and consulates should prepare Muslim as well as other religious and secular applicants on the laws and norms of Canada, because religion should be something that is in the home and in the confines of the church, synagogue, mosque and temple.

In March 2013 an internal investigation was taking place in British Columbia regarding an outreach scandal targeting ethnic communities. The scandal erupted over allegations of the existence of a document, created using taxpayer resources, to attract ethnic voters to the BC Liberals in hopes of winning key ridings in the May 14, 2013 provincial election.

Outraged over the BC Liberal government scandal, Senator Housakos publishes Multiculturalism’s an Outdated Insult, in March 2013, where he argues that official Multiculturalism, a Liberal Party invention of the 1960s, essentially became a state-financed marketing program where the government uses tax dollars to buy photo ops with ethnic leaders – usually in culturally diverse cities such as Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. Under the guise of official government policy, this Liberal invention, he adds, would eventually translate into broader support in general elections.^[13] This policy of Multiculturalism, continued by successive governments, produces profiling Canadians based on race, color and religion, thus furthering the creation of hyphenated Canadians.

Being of Greek descent, he firmly believes that Multiculturalism is an outdated policy and favors replacing multiculturalism with a policy of integration, where Canadian values of equality and the rule of law are emphasized.

Most recently, Senator Housakos spoke out against the PQ government’s controversial Charter of Quebec Values, on the basis that it negates respect for individual rights.

“Other than just a political ploy on the part of the Parti Québécois to chase down nationalist votes that have maybe left to go to other more radical nationalist parties in the last couple of elections, there’s no other benefit (from introducing a new charter),” said Mr. Housakos. “So the only people that see a need for this is the Parti Québécois. And the need is for political expediency.”^[14]

Community Involvement - Passions

During his spare time, Senator Housakos does charity work for the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA), where they help raise funds for children’s causes in the Montreal area.

Mr. Housakos was instrumental in helping to organize a charity ball for Giant Steps, an association dedicated to helping autistic children.^[15][16]

He has also been coaching a youth hockey team for over 10 years. In 2009, his team became the champions of the 33rd Brossard Provincial Atom hockey tournament.^[17]

Senate Committees

Current member of the Transport and Communications (TRCM) Current member of the Foreign Affairs and International Trade (AEFA) Former member of the Agriculture and Forestry (AGFO) Former member of the Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources (ENEV) Former member of the Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament (RPRD) Former member of the Scrutiny of Regulations (joint) (REGS)

References