| Rathika Sitsabaiesan MP |
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| Rathika Sitsabaiesan - Honored to win in local MP category in Now "Best Of 2012". | |
| Member of the Canadian Parliament for Scarborough—Rouge River |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office May 2, 2011 |
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| Preceded by | Derek Lee[1] |
| Majority | 5,000[2] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 23, 1981 [3] Jaffna, Sri Lanka[4] |
| Citizenship | Canadian |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Political party | New Democratic Party[1] |
| Residence | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Alma mater | Carleton University Queen’s University |
| Occupation | Activist, community worker |
| Profession | Labour Relations Specialist |
| Committees | Standing Committee for Citizenship and Immigration |
| Portfolio | Post-Secondary Education (Human Resources and Skills Development) |
| Website | rathika.ca |
Rathika Sitsabaiesan (Tamil: இராதிகா சிற்சபை ஈசன்) (born December 23, 1981) is a member of the House of Commons of Canada for the New Democratic Party, representing Scarborough—Rouge River. She is the first person of Tamil-origin to be elected to federal parliament in Canada and the first female and first person of colour to be elected as Member of Parliament in Scarborough—Rouge River. She is also the youngest Member of Parliament in the Greater Toronto Area.[1]
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Early life [edit]
Sitsabaiesan was born in Jaffna, Sri Lanka,[3][4] a small town in the peninsula of Jaffna in Northern Province.[5] She has three elder sisters.[6] At the age of five, Sitsabaiesan and her family emigrated to Canada.[4][6][7]
Sitsabaiesan grew up in Mississauga, west of Toronto.[6] When her father was disabled following a workplace accident, her mother had to give up her nursing studies to work in a warehouse to support the family.[6] Sitsabaiesan attended the University of Toronto for the first two years of her higher education.[1][4] While there, she served as Vice President of the Tamil Students Association.[4] She would later transfer to Carleton University, where she would go on to complete a Bachelor of Commerce degree.[4][7] During her time at Carleton, Sitsabaiesan served as a Vice President of the Carleton University Students' Association, Caucus Chair of the New University Government and Operations Manager of the Rideau River Residence Association.[4] She completed graduate studies at Queen’s University, where she obtained a Master's degree in Industrial Relations.[4][7]
Sitsabaiesan is a member of the Board of Directors of the Malvern Community Coalition, a residents' group in Malvern, Toronto.[7] She worked for the University of Toronto Students' Union and the Ontario Labour Relations Board before being elected to Parliament.[4]
Political career [edit]
Sitsabaiesan became involved with the New Democratic Party (NDP) in 2004 when she volunteered for Ed Broadbent's federal election campaign.[4][5] She later served in various roles in the NDP including as a canvasser and campaign manager during the 2008 Canadian federal election.[4] She also served as an advisor on Tamil issues to NDP leader Jack Layton.[5]
In December 2009 Sitsabaiesan won the nomination to be the NDP's candidate in the Scarborough—Rouge River electoral district in Toronto.[6] The late federal NDP leader Jack Layton made his final campaigning stop at Sitsabaiesan's campaign rally a day before the 2011 federal election with his wife and fellow NDP MP Olivia Chow. Scarborough—Rouge River was considered a safe Liberal seat that had been held by Derek Lee (who did not contest the seat in 2011) since its creation 1988.[5][6] Sitsabaiesan won the 2011 Canadian federal election after securing 18,935 votes (40.62%).[2] Sitsabaiesan became the first Tamil Canadian to be elected to the House of Commons of Canada.[3][5][7] Sitsabaiesan is the first Tamil woman to be elected to any federal parliament outside India or Sri Lanka, with the exception of Indranee Rajah who is a Chindian from Singapore. She is also the first female Member of Parliament to represent Scarborough-Rouge River.[8]
Sitsabaiesan was subsequently appointed critic for Post-Secondary Education (Human Resources and Skills Development) in the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet in the 41st Canadian Parliament.[9]
Stance on war crime charges on Sri Lanka [edit]
Rathika Sitsabaiesan said, "she will take the initiative to form an All Party Parliamentary Committee (APPC) to look into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka during the last stages of the war.[3] She further said, she would prioritize the formation of the APPC to "research and come up with recommendations" for the Canadian government over the report by the UN Experts Panel appointed by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.[3] Sitsabaiesan added, "For me the focus is people being treated with fairness, equality, dignity and justice... it is important for the culprits to be identified as a move towards genuine reconciliation.[3]
Electoral record [edit]
| Canadian federal election, 2011 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±pp | Expenditures | |
| New Democratic | Rathika Sitsabaiesan | 18,935 | 40.6 | +26.0 | $55,192.59 | |
| Conservative | Marlene Gallyot | 13,935 | 29.9 | +7.4 | ||
| Liberal | Rana Sarkar | 12,699 | 27.2 | -31.0 | ||
| Green | George Singh | 684 | 1.5 | -2.4 | ||
| Independent | Mark Balack | 357 | 0.8 | – | ||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 46,610 | 100.0 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 221 | 0.5 | – | |||
| Turnout | 46,831 | 56.2 | – | |||
| Eligible voters | 83,285 | – | – | |||
References [edit]
- ^ a b c d Laurie Monsebraaten (3 May 2011). "Youthful confidence wins the day in engaged riding of Scarborough-Rouge River". thestar.com. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
- ^ a b "2011 General Election - Results Validated by the Returning Officer - Scarborough--Rouge River". Elections Canada.
- ^ a b c d e f "Canada’s Tamil MP wants probe on alleged war crimes". Daily Mirror. 2011-05-10. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "About Rathika Sitsabaiesan". Retrieved 2011-05-03.
- ^ a b c d e "Rathika becomes the first Tamil MP in Canada". TamilNet. 2011-05-03. Retrieved 2011-05-03.
- ^ a b c d e f "Rathika makes history". Mississauga.com. 4 May 2011.
- ^ a b c d e "Canada's first Tamil MP looks forward to challenge". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 3 May 2011.
- ^ Rathika Sitsabaiesan, MP inaugural Speech in the House of Commons
- ^ "NDP Shadow Cabinet". New Democratic Party. Retrieved 2011-06-02.
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rathika Sitsabaiesan |
- Official website
- Rathika Sitsabaiesan - Parliament of Canada biography
- Rathika Sitsabaiesan Speech at FeTNA 2011. Charleston, SC, USA
- Rathika Sitsabaiesan's Youtube channel
- 1981 births
- Canadian activists
- Canadian people of Tamil descent
- Canadian women Members of Parliament
- Carleton University alumni
- Living people
- Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario
- New Democratic Party MPs
- Queen's University alumni
- Women in Ontario politics
- Canadian people of Sri Lankan descent
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