Mac Harb
| The Honourable Mac Harb | |
|---|---|
| Senator for Ontario | |
| In office September 9, 2003 – August 26, 2013 | |
| Appointed by | Jean Chrétien |
| MP for Ottawa Centre | |
| In office November 21, 1988 – September 8, 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Michael Cassidy |
| Succeeded by | Ed Broadbent |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 10, 1953 Chaat, Lebanon |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Political party | Independent (May 10, 2013-August 26, 2013) Liberal Party of Canada (September 9, 2003-May 9, 2013) |
| Occupation | Politician, engineer, professor |
Mac Harb (born November 10, 1953) is a retired Canadian parliamentarian. Mac Harb spent 25 years in Parliament first as a Member of the House of Commons and then as a Senator.
Life and career
Harb was born in Chaat, Lebanon, raised as a Maronite Christian, and emigrated to Canada to study at the University of Ottawa in 1973. He subsequently worked as an engineer at Northern Telecom and a professor at Algonquin College in Ottawa. Harb was elected to Ottawa City Council in 1985 and served as deputy mayor in 1987 and 1988.
He was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 1988 federal election as the Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Ottawa Centre. He supported Jean Chrétien's bid to succeed John Turner as leader of the Liberal Party in 1990, and remained a Chrétien loyalist throughout his career as an MP.
In September 2003, Harb was appointed to the Canadian Senate on Chrétien's recommendation.
In March 2009, Harb attempted to introduce a bill that would have limited the East Coast seal hunt to only those with aboriginal treaty rights.[1] He also attempted to introduce a bill in June 2011 that would outlaw commercial seal hunting, and had introduced a third bill against the seal hunt in May 2012. PETA subsequently honoured him as their "Canadian Person of the Year".[2]
Senate expense scandal
In May 2013, the Senate Internal Economy Committee found that Mac Harb had incorrectly claimed $51,482.90 of living and travel expenses and ordered him to repay it, which was done by July 5, 2013.[3] The committee had earlier advised Harb to repay more than $231,000 of claimed expenses dating back to 2005 to avoid an extensive audit into his finances.[3] Harb stated that his repayment was done "under protest" since he intended to challenge the validity of the committee's findings in the Ontario Divisional Court.[3]
On August 26, 2013, Harb issued a statement saying that he had repaid all money owed to the Senate, dropped all his lawsuits, and was retiring effective immediately.[4][5]
On February 4, 2014, Harb along with Senator Patrick Brazeau are both facing possible fraud charges in connection to the Senate scandal.[6]
References
- ↑ "Seal hunt ban gets icy reception in Senate". CBCNews. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
- ↑ Robin Levinson (December 27, 2012). "Harb accepts PETA award for his efforts to stop ‘inhumanity’ of the seal hunt". Ottawa Citizen.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Senator Mac Harb repays $51K in expenses". CBC. July 4, 2013. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
- ↑ Janus, Andrea (August 26, 2013). "Mac Harb resigns from Senate, repays eight years' worth of expenses". CTV News. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
- ↑ "Senator Mac Harb pays back $231,000 in expenses, retires". CBC News. August 26, 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
- ↑ http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/senate-expenses-mac-harb-patrick-brazeau-to-be-charged-by-rcmp-1.2522431