Jagmeet Singh

Jagmeet Singh
Ontario MPP
Incumbent
Assumed office October 6, 2011
Preceded by	Kuldip Kular
Constituency	Bramalea—Gore—Malton
Personal details
Born	(1979-01-02) January 2, 1979
Political party	New Democrat
Residence(s)	Brampton, Ontario
Profession	Lawyer

Jagmeet Singh Dhaliwal (born January 2, 1979) is an Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2011 provincial election. He represents the electoral district of Bramalea—Gore—Malton for the Ontario New Democratic Party. Singh is the first New Democrat to be elected in the Peel Region, unseating the Liberal incumbent Dr. Kuldip Kular by about 2,100 votes.

He is currently the NDP critic to the Attorney General of Ontario and critic to the Ministry of Consumer Services. Singh is also a permanent member of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts and a substitute member of the Standing Committee on Justice Policy and Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs.

Education

Singh attended high school at the Detroit Country Day School, in Beverly Hills, Michigan, graduating in 1997. He obtained his B.Sc. in Biology from the University of Western Ontario in 2001 and his LL.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University in 2005. He was called to the Bar of the Law Society of Upper Canada in 2006. He speaks English, French and Punjabi.

Legal career

Before becoming an MPP, Singh worked as a criminal defense lawyer in the Brampton and Mississauga area. He worked at a leading criminal defense firm before establishing his own practice.

Singh is known as a strong community advocate. He offered free legal rights seminars across Ontario and provided pro bono legal counsel for people and community organizations in need. In a Toronto Star article published January 9, 2012, Singh stated that his background in criminal defense contributed to his decision to enter politics, particularly his work advocating for the protection of Charter rights.

Politics

Election

Singh ran in the federal riding of Bramalea—Gore—Malton in the 2011 federal election and lost by 539 votes to Conservative Bal Gosal. He was then recruited by the Ontario NDP (ONDP) to run as a provincial candidate in the Bramalea-Gore-Malton riding.

CBC News coverage of Singh’s provincial campaign noted the significant youth participation the campaign generated. On September 4, 2011, Singh and youth from the riding paid tribute to the late federal NDP leader Jack Layton, an avid cyclist. Singh led a group of youth in a bike ride through Bramalea-Gore-Malton to remember Layton and bring attention to his campaign. In an interview with the Toronto Star, Singh stated that his campaign headquarters was a “safe haven for young people,” adding that "what I realized is there are not a lot of services like drop-in centres or places for kids to kind of get together. It’s a safe environment and a positive one as well.”

Issues

Singh has called for greater police accountability and demanded the provincial government draft legislation to strengthen Ontario's Special Investigations Unit (SIU). He criticized the Ministry of the Attorney General following the release of a report by Ombudsman André Marin that found the province had “undermined” Ontario’s SIU. Singh was quoted in the Brampton Guardian stating, “The comprehensive failure of the ministry to address concerns about the SIU and give it a proper mandate is simply unacceptable, and I expect immediate action from the new Attorney General.”

He has been an important advocate for the recognition of religious freedoms in Ontario courtrooms. Singh was instrumental in passing key amendments to Bill 34, An Act to repeal the Public Works and Protection Act and to amend the Police Services Act with respect to courtroom security. He worked to pass accommodations for religious articles of faith and assistive devices for individuals seeking to enter courtrooms. Singh was quoted in the Inside Queen's Park newsletter saying, "Religious accommodation should exist because courts should be kept free, open and democratic and public." He also worked to pass a resolution at the 2012 Ontario NDP Convention that called on the ONDP caucus to work towards the legislated protection of the kirpan.

Singh sits on the Ontario Legislature's Standing Committee on Public Accounts. He has been a vocal critic of the province’s handling of the Ornge Air Ambulance service and called for greater oversight of public dollars spent in the healthcare sector. Ornge was the subject of a Toronto Star investigation that found the air ambulance service paid a $1.4 million salary to its president while failing to provide timely emergency services. Singh was quoted saying, "No more flying blind at Ornge.... The people of Ontario have been paying the bills at Ornge with scarce health dollars. They deserve the facts about what's happened. A key first step is making executive contracts immediately available to the public."

Private member's bills

Singh introduced Bill 45, An Act to Amend the Insurance Act, on March 7, 2012. The proposed legislation aimed to address high auto insurance rates. Specifically, the bill aimed to counter the current practice of basing insurance rates on geographic location. The bill was lost on recorded division during second reading on July 7, 2012. However, Singh’s petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario calling for auto insurance reform collected over 10,000 signatures from across the province. He has taken a lead role in the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs’ study of the auto insurance industry’s practices that will also hold public hearings on auto insurance in Brampton, Toronto, Windsor, and Thunder Bay.

Singh has also introduced Bill 98, An Act to amend the Consumer Protection Act, 2002 with respect to money transfers, which carried through first reading on May 31, 2012. The private member’s bill aims to limit the fees that Ontarians pay to send money overseas. If passed, the bill would cap fees at 5 per cent and require greater transparency with respect to how fees are determined. Singh was quoted in the CBC saying, “This is a step forward in terms of addressing the realities of Canada and Ontario and the GTA, that there is a significant immigrant and new Canadian population and this would provide some fairness to those who wish to send money back to their loved ones.”

Human rights activity

Singh has been vocal on a number of human rights issues. On March 26, 2012, he issued a statement opposing the Government of India’s decision to hang Balwant Singh Rajoana. In the statement Singh called for Canada and Ontario to urge India to abolish the death penalty, stating that “With a $1.3 Billion annual trade between Ontario and India, this government should demand our trading partners uphold the same humanitarian values as us Canadians.” In June 2012, he gave a statement in remembrance of the Sikh genocide and June 1984 raid on the Golden Temple in Amritsar by the Indian government. Singh has also spoken out against human rights violations committed by the Sri Lankan government. He has advocated for the rights and freedoms of the Tibetan community and spoken against the persecution of the Falun Dafa practicing community by the Chinese government.

Personal life

Singh is a mixed martial arts specialist who has competed in the U.S. and Canada in Brazilian ju-jitsu — a form of “submission grappling” familiar to UFC fans.

Singh is also known for wearing fine Canadian-made suits. He has twice been featured on the Toronto style blog Toronto Verve while biking in the city wearing a custom-made suit designed by Don Fabien Lee of Trend Custom Tailors and Garrison Bespoke blazer.

Awards and recognition

In January 2012, the Toronto Star named Singh one of Toronto's top 12 personalities to watch in 2012 calling Singh a trailblazer in Ontario politics.

Singh was recognized by the World Sikh Organization in their 2012 list of Honorees for being the first turbaned Sikh MPP in Ontario.

Singh has also been recognized by the Ontario Federation of Labour as a youth leader.

External links

• Jagmeet Singh
• Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history (archived)
• Jagmeet Singh Quotes