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Mac Harb

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Mac Harb
Senator for Ontario
In office
September 9, 2003 – August 26, 2013
Appointed byJean Chrétien
MP for Ottawa Centre
In office
November 21, 1988 – September 8, 2003
Preceded byMichael Cassidy
Succeeded byEd Broadbent
Personal details
Born (1953-11-10) November 10, 1953 (age 70)
Chaat, Lebanon
NationalityCanadian
Political partyIndependent (May 10, 2013-August 26, 2013)
Liberal Party of Canada (September 9, 2003-May 9, 2013)
OccupationPolitician, 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, 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]

On December 6, 2012, Mac Harb was named in relation to the Canadian Senate expenses scandal due to expenses for a property in Pembroke, Ontario.[3] He announced his retirement from the Senate on August 26, 2013.[4]

References

  1. ^ "Seal hunt ban gets icy reception in Senate". CBCNews. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
  2. ^ Robin Levinson (December 27, 2012). "Harb accepts PETA award for his efforts to stop 'inhumanity' of the seal hunt". Ottawa Citizen.
  3. ^ Timeline: Key dates in the evolution of the Senate expense-claim controversy
  4. ^ Senate scandal: Mac Harb resigns
  • Mac Harb – Parliament of Canada biography
  • Liberal Senate Forum