Mac Harb

Mac Harb (Arabic: ماك حرب‎; born November 10, 1953) is a Canadian Senator and former Member of the House of Commons.

Life and career[edit]

Harb was born in Chaat, Lebanon and immigrated to Canada to study at the University of Ottawa. 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[edit]

In 2013, it was discovered that Harb has improperly claimed $231,649 in living expenses and mileage dating back to 2006. The auditors investigating his claims were unable to go back beyond 2006 as records are only kept for 7 years. This allegation has forced him to leave the Liberal caucus and sit as an independent. On June 3, 2013 he was asked to repay the improperly claimed funds within 30 days. So far Harb has not repaid the funds. A garnishment of wages is being considered to recover the missing funds. The RCMP has also been asked to investigate.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Mac Harb - Parliament of Canada biography
• Liberal Senate Forum

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