Bob Kaplan

The Honourable
Bob Kaplan
PC, QC
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Don Valley
In office
1968–1972
Preceded by Riding created
Succeeded by James Gillies
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for York Centre
In office
1974–1993
Preceded by James Edgar Walker
Succeeded by Art Eggleton
Personal details
Born Robert Philip Kaplan
December 27, 1936
Toronto, Ontario
Died November 5, 2012 (aged 75)
Toronto
Nationality Canadian
Political party Liberal
Spouse(s) Estherelke Tanenbaum Kaplan (1940-2009)
Relations Michael Kaplan (brother)
Children Jennifer Mia Chown, John David Kaplan, Raquel Katherine Shulman
Parents Solomon Charles and Pearl (Grafstein) Kaplan
Residence Toronto
Alma mater University of Toronto
Occupation lawyer, civil servant
Cabinet Solicitor General of Canada (1980-1984)
Portfolio Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance (1976-1977)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Health and Welfare (1975-1976)
Religion Judaism

Robert Philip "Bob" Kaplan, PC QC (December 27, 1936 – November 5, 2012) was a Canadian Cabinet minister and lawyer.

Life and career

Born in Toronto, Ontario to Solomon and Pearl Kaplan and brother of Michael Kaplan. Kaplan attended Forest Hill Collegiate Institute in Toronto and received a Bachelor of Arts in 1958 and an LL.B in 1961 from the University of Toronto. In 1963, he was called to the Ontario Bar.

He was first elected as a Liberal Member of Parliament for the Toronto riding of Don Valley in 1968, beating the Progressive Conservative candidate, Dalton Camp. He lost to the PC candidate, Jim Gillies, in the 1972 election. For the 1974 election, he switched ridings to York Centre and won by over 16,000 votes. In 1978, he failed to implement Bill C-215, which would have stripped Canadians of their citizenship if they had been convicted of war crimes.[1]

He was re-elected in the 1979, 1980, 1984 and 1988 elections. He was the Solicitor General of Canada from 1980 to 1984 and oversaw the creation of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the Security Intelligence Review Committee and the termination of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Security Service.[2] Kaplan was also responsible for bringing in the Young Offenders Act in 1984 which established 12 as the minimum age for criminal charges, brought in shorter sentences for most offenders under the age of 18 and banned the publication of youths charged or convicted of criminal acts in most circumstances.[3] He also pressed for and oversaw the extradition of Helmut Rauca to West Germany for war crimes.[4]

After leaving politics in 1993, Kaplan served as the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Canada and was awarded the Order of Kazakhstan by its president in recognition of his service to the Republic. He was a director of PetroKazakhstan Inc., Platexco Inc., and Rex Diamond Mining Corp. In 2004, he joined the Board of Directors of European Goldfields, a Canadian-based resource company involved in the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral properties in Romania and the Balkans.[3]

He died at age 75 of cancer.[3]

References

  1. ↑ McCormack, Timothy. "The Law of War Crimes", 1997, p. 152
  2. ↑ MacKrael, Kim (November 5, 2012). "Robert Kaplan, father of CSIS, dies at age 75". Globe and Mail. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Kraft, Frances (November 13, 2012). "Former solicitor general ‘made a big difference’". Canadian Jewish News. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  4. ↑ Farber, Bernie (November 6, 2012). "Robert Kaplan fought to uncover Nazis in Canada". Toronto Star. Retrieved November 18, 2012.

External links