Bas Balkissoon

Bas Balkissoon (born c.1952) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2005 to 2016 who represented the riding of Scarborough—Rouge River. From 1988 to 1997 he was a municipal councillor in Scarborough and from 1998 to 2005 he was a councillor in the amalgamated city of Toronto.

Bas Balkissoon
Balkissoon in 2015 as Deputy Speaker
Ontario MPP
In office
2005–2016
Preceded byAlvin Curling
Succeeded byRaymond Cho
ConstituencyScarborough—Rouge River
Toronto City Councillor for Ward 41 Scarborough-Rouge River
In office
2000–2005
Preceded byNew riding
Succeeded byPaul Ainslie (interim)
Chin Lee
Toronto City Councillor for Ward 18 - Scarborough Malvern
In office
1998–2000
Preceded byNew riding
Succeeded byRiding abolished
Scarborough City Councillor for Ward 13
In office
1988–1997
Preceded byBob Sanders
Succeeded byRiding abolished
Personal details
Born1952 (age 7071)
Trinidad and Tobago
Political partyLiberal
SpouseTahay Balkissoon
Children3
Residence(s)Toronto, Ontario
PortfolioDeputy Speaker (2011-2016)

Background

Born in Trinidad and Tobago, and of Indian descent, Balkissoon rose to prominence as the head of Scarborough Homeowners Alliance For Fair Taxes, an organization that challenged the province's property assessment system.[1] He is married to Tahay and together they have raised three children.[2] His daughter in law, Laura Jarrett, is an attorney and co-anchor for NBC News's Saturday "Today", daughter of Valerie Jarrett, former senior advisor to U.S. President Barack Obama.[3][4]

City Councillor

In 1988, he was elected to Scarborough city council in what was then Ward 13.[5]

With the formation of the new amalgamated city of Toronto, he was elected to Toronto City Council in 1997.[6] As chair of the city's Audit Committee he was credited with uncovering a dubious computer leasing deal between the city and MFP Financial, which eventually led to the formation of the Toronto Computer Leasing Inquiry.[7] Balkissoon also served for a period on the Police Services Board on which he was critical of then-Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino as well as the Toronto Police Association and its leader at the time, Craig Bromell.[8]

Ontario legislature

In a by-election held on November 24, 2005, Balkissoon was elected as the Member of Provincial Parliament for the riding of Scarborough—Rouge River, replacing Alvin Curling who was appointed as the Canadian ambassador to the Dominican Republic. Balkissoon, as the Liberal Party candidate, won with 58% of the vote. Conservative candidate Cynthia Lai received 24% of the vote and the NDP's Sheila White finished third with 15%.[9] In the Liberal nomination prior to the by-election, the party chose to use a clause in its constitution that declared other candidates invalid, effectively handing the nomination to Balkissoon. This excluded other contenders such as Raymond Cho who considered putting his name forward.[10]

Balkissoon was easily re-elected in the 2007 provincial election, defeating his closest opponent by over 17,000 votes.[11] He was also re-elected in 2011,[12] and 2014.[13]

During his time in office he has been appointed to a number of Parliamentary Assistant roles including Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services (2006-7, 2014); Minister of Health and Long-Term Care (2007-10); and Minister of Community and Social Services (2010-2013). In 2011 he was named as Deputy Speaker and Chair of the Committee of the Whole House.[14]

On March 22, 2016 Balkissoon resigned from the legislature.[15][16]

Electoral record

2014 Ontario general election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalBas Balkissoon16,13438.86-3.01
New DemocraticNeethan Shan12,86330.98-4.99
Progressive ConservativeRaymond Cho11,49127.68+8.89
GreenGeorge B. Singh5691.37+0.12
None of the AboveAmir Khan4611.11
Total valid votes 41,518100.0  
Liberal hold Swing +0.99
Source: Elections Ontario[17]
2011 Ontario general election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalBas Balkissoon15,27541.9-23.3
New DemocraticNeethan Shan13,13036.0+22.5
Progressive ConservativeKen Kim6,83618.7+4.2
LibertarianFelix Liao4581.3-0.1
GreenGeorge Singh4481.2-2.5
Family CoalitionRaphael Rosch1660.5-1.2
FreedomDaniel Walker1510.4+0.4
Total valid votes 36,464 100.0
2007 Ontario general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
LiberalBas Balkissoon22,36265.2+7.6
Progressive ConservativeHorace Gooden4,96214.5-10.4
New DemocraticSheila White4,64613.5-1.4
GreenSerge Abbat1,2753.7+2.5
Family CoalitionJoseph Carvalho5811.7+1.1
LibertarianAlan Mercer4921.4+0.8
Ontario by-election, November 24, 2005
Party Candidate Votes % +/-
LiberalBas Balkissoon9,34757.6-6.2
Progressive ConservativeCynthia Lai4,03224.9-0.3
New DemocraticSheila White2,42514.9+8.9
GreenSteven Toman1671.2-2.3
LibertarianAlan Mercer1000.6-
Family CoalitionRina Morra930.6-0.8
FreedomWayne Simmons590.4-

References

  1. Abbate, Gay (November 17, 1988). "Trimmer's priority is ridding Scarboro of 'Scarberia' image". The Globe and Mail. p. D10.
  2. O'Neill, Susan (November 25, 2005). "Balkissoon easily wins byelection". The Scarborough Mirror. p. 1.
  3. "Obama attends wedding of Toronto Liberal MPP's son | The Star". Toronto Star. June 20, 2012.
  4. Brian Steinberg, 'Variety,' "Laura Jarrett Will Co-Anchor NBC’s Saturday ‘Today’" August 9, 2023 https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/laura-jarrett-saturday-today-nbc-news-1235691665/
  5. "Civic election '88". The Globe and Mail. November 16, 1988. p. A16.
  6. "1997 Toronto general election results". City of Toronto. 1997. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  7. Barber, John (October 18, 2001). "Will auditors get to the bottom of unsolved mystery?". The Globe and Mail. p. A23.
  8. Quinn, Jennifer (April 5, 2002). "Balkissoon resigns police board; Councillor unhappy with ceremonial role, chairman's actions". Toronto Star. p. B2.
  9. "By-Election 2005". Elections Ontario. November 24, 2005. Archived from the original on August 20, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  10. Urquhart, Ian (October 5, 2005). "Liberals play rough on by-election". The Toronto Star.
  11. "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. October 10, 2007. p. 14 (xxiii). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 6, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  12. "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. October 6, 2011. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 30, 2013. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  13. "General Election by District: Scarborough-Rouge River". Elections Ontario. June 12, 2014. Archived from the original on June 17, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  14. "Legislative Reports". Canadian Parliamentary Review. November 11, 2011.
  15. "Liberal MPP Bas Balkissoon resigns his Scarborough-Rouge River seat in legislature". Global News. Canadian Press. March 22, 2016. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
  16. "Platt Tweets". twitter. March 22, 2016.
  17. "General Election Results by District, 083 Scarborough—Rouge River". Elections Ontario. 2014. Archived from the original on June 17, 2014. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
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