Marwan Tabbara

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Marwan Tabbara
Marwan Tabbara.jpeg
Member of Parliament
for Kitchener South—Hespeler
In office
October 19, 2015 – August 15, 2021
Preceded byDistrict created
Personal details
Born1983/1984 (age 36–37)[1]
Beirut, Lebanon
NationalityCanadian
Political partyIndependent
Other political
affiliations		Liberal (2015–2020)
ResidenceKitchener, Ontario
Alma materUniversity of Guelph

Marwan Rached Tabbara MP (born 1983 or 1984) is a Canadian former politician who represented the riding of Kitchener South—Hespeler in the House of Commons of Canada from 2015 to 2021. He was first elected in the 2015 federal election as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada[2] and re-elected in 2019. Tabbara resigned from the Liberal caucus in 2020 after he was charged in connection with an alleged assault, and sat as an independent member for the remainder of the 43rd Canadian Parliament.

Early life[]

Marwan Tabbara was born in Beirut, Lebanon on August 23, 1984. Four years later, his family immigrated to Canada to flee the ongoing Lebanese Civil War.[3]

After receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Government from the University of Guelph[citation needed], Tabbara took several construction jobs in the summer before working at the Frito Lay plant in Cambridge, where he worked as a line technician. He also worked as a field supervisor for a management company doing quality control work within the automotive industry.[3]

Member of Parliament[]

2015 comments on the Middle East[]

For the 2015 federal election, during a Kitchener South—Hespeler debate, Tabbara mentioned that Jean Chrétien refused to send troops into Afghanistan when he was prime minister even though Canada began sending troops to Afghanistan in 2001 during Chrétien's tenure.[4] Tabbara's statement was challenged by Conservative candidate Marian Gagné to which he replied "So is bombing Syrian children OK?"[4] Tabbara apologized for the comments.[4]

Sexual harassment allegations[]

Tabbara was investigated by the Liberal Party for allegations he sexually harassed a female staff member dating back to the 2015 election.[5] An internal investigation into the allegations was conducted by the Liberal Party and Tabbara was approved to seek re-election in 2019.[6] CBC News reported that the party's investigation "determined that some of the allegations were substantiated".[5]

2020 arrest and charges[]

On April 9, 2020, Tabbara was arrested by police in Guelph, Ontario on charges that included two counts of alleged assault, one count of "break and enter and commit an indictable offence" and one count of criminal harassment.[7] The court imposed a publication ban on details of the case preventing further details of the charges from being reported publicly.[8]

On June 5, 2020 it was reported that he is "stepping back from the Liberal caucus" but not resigning as an MP after the charges were revealed.[9] Tabbara was jailed and bailed on Easter Friday 2020. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Caucus were unaware of these charges, as the Guelph Police did not issue a media release. Tabbara's bail hearing was done remotely by a Justice of the Peace 120km away from the jailhouse he occupied. [10][11]

Tabbara's trial was repeatedly pushed due to multiple delays, including the COVID-19 pandemic, from its initial August 28, 2020 date.[8][12][13][14][15][16] Most recently, the case has been adjourned until September 23, 2021.[17] He is not seeking re-election in the 2021 Canada federal election.[18]

Electoral record[]

hide
2019 Canadian federal election: Kitchener South—Hespeler
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Marwan Tabbara 20,986 40.18 -2.09 $106,706.58
Conservative Alan Keeso 17,480 33.47 -2.26 none listed
New Democratic Wasai Rahimi 6,945 13.30 -2.26 none listed
Green David Weber 5,671 10.86 +7.16 $7,620.10
People's Joseph Todd 1,005 1.92 none listed
Matthew Correia 90 0.17 $312.71
Marxist–Leninist Elaine Baetz 56 0.11 -0.08 $0.00
Total valid votes/Expense limit 52,233 99.25
Total rejected ballots 395 0.75 +0.21
Turnout 52,628 65.66 -0.25
Eligible voters 80,150
Liberal hold Swing +0.56
Source: Elections Canada[19][20]
hide2015 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Marwan Tabbara 20,215 42.3 +23.38 $68,757.73
Conservative Marian Gagné 17,544 36.7 -14.49 $96,904.47
New Democratic Lorne Bruce 7,440 15.6 -10.16 –
Green David Weber 1,767 3.7 -0.3 $2,785.51
Libertarian Nathan Lajeunesse 772 1.6 – $2,129.83
Marxist–Leninist Elaine Baetz 91 0.2 – –
Total valid votes/Expense limit 47,829 100.0   $205,534.07
Total rejected ballots 259 0.5 –
Turnout 48,088 66.4 –
Eligible voters 72,359
Liberal notional gain from Conservative Swing +18.93%
Source: Elections Canada[21][22]

References[]

  1. ^ Outhit, Jeff (October 20, 2015). "Liberals win region's newest riding, Kitchener South-Hespeler". Waterloo Region Record.
  2. ^ "Kitchener South-Hespeler: Liberal Marwan Tabbara elected". CBC News. Oct 19, 2015. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Vivian, Richard. "Liberals choose Marwan Tabbara as Kitchener South-Hespeler candidate". Cambridge Times. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Liberal candidate apologizes for statements on Middle East during debate". CTV News Kitchener. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Burke, Ashley (Jun 19, 2020). "Liberals allowed MP Marwan Tabbara to run in 2019 despite sexual harassment investigation". CBC News.
  6. ^ Humphreys, Adrian. "MP Marwan Tabbara has brief court date as new allegation of sexual harassment is made". National Post. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
  7. ^ "Liberal MP Marwan Tabbara charged with assault, harassment and break and enter". CBC News. June 5, 2020.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b Carty, Matt. "MP Marwan Tabbara's assault trial pushed to September". Global News. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
  9. ^ Humphreys, Adrian (2020-06-05). "Ontario MP Marwan Tabbara 'stepping back' from Liberal causcus after assault, criminal harassment charges". National Post. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
  10. ^ Humphreys, Adrian (8 June 2020). "Ontario MP allegedly watched home for three months before arrest there for assault, break and enter, harassment". National Post.
  11. ^ Humphreys, Adrian; Platt, Brian (15 June 2020). "As Ontario MP Marwan Tabbara sat in jail over Easter, there was no backlash because nobody knew". National Post.
  12. ^ Seto, Chris (2020-11-20). "Kitchener-South Hespeler MP Marwan Tabbara to return to court next month". Waterloo Region Record. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
  13. ^ "Kitchener-South Hespeler MP Marwan Tabbara due back in court in February". Waterloo Region Record. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
  14. ^ "Judicial pretrial for Kitchener South-Hespeler MP Marwan Tabbara to be held next month". Waterloo Region Record. 14 May 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  15. ^ "Case against Kitchener South-Hespeler MP Marwan Tabbara moving slowly through court". Waterloo Region Record. 2 July 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  16. ^ "MP Marwan Tabbara returns to court next month". Waterloo Region Record. 6 August 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  17. ^ "Court case of former Kitchener South-Hespeler MP Marwan Tabbara adjourned again". Waterloo Region Record. 1 September 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  18. ^ "Marwan Tabbara is not seeking re-election in Kitchener South—Hespeler | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  19. ^ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  20. ^ "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  21. ^ Canada, Elections. "Voter Information Service - Find your electoral district". www.elections.ca.
  22. ^ Canada, Elections. "Error page". www.elections.ca. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.

External links[]

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