Toni Skarica

Antonio 'Toni' Skarica is a lawyer and former politician in Ontario, Canada. From 1995 to 2000, he was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

Skarica was born in England, and moved to Canada at a young age. He has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McMaster University, and a law degree from the University of Toronto. He worked in private practice and as a Crown Attorney before entering political life.

As an elected politician

Skarica was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1995 provincial election, defeating Liberal Chris Ward and New Democratic Party incumbent Don Abel by a significant margin in the suburban Hamilton riding of Wentworth North. He was not appointed to cabinet under Mike Harris, and soon developed a reputation as a maverick within his party, supporting right-wing and libertarian principles. He opposed the Harris government's plans to amalgamate the City of Hamilton with neighbouring municipalities.

Skarica was re-elected in the provincial election of 1999, in the redistributed riding of Wentworth—Burlington. During the election, he promised to resign if he was unable to prevent the amalgamation of Ancaster, Dundas, and Flamborough into the City of Hamilton. The Harris government pushed forward with its amalgamation plans at the end of 1999, and Skarica resigned from the legislature on February 7, 2000. [cite news
title=Backbench Tory quits rather than be liar: Toni Skarica resigns over super-city vow
accessdate=2006-12-10
date=2000-01-12
page=A10
publisher=Toronto Star]

It may be noted that the timing of Skarica's resignation allowed him to automatically resume his former job in the legal profession without penalty. Had he waited a few months longer, the five-year window would have elapsed.Fact|date=February 2007Tony was also very involved in the community, and for a time was the coach of a house-league soccer team.

As a Lawyer

As of 2006, Toni is employed as an Assistant Crown Attorney serving Hamilton, Ontario. [cite news|title=GARDINER AT 'HIGH RISK' TO OFFEND; CROWN TELLS JUDGE IT'S IN HIS HANDS TO PROTECT WOMEN FROM SLASHER'S ESCALATING CRIMES|accessdate=2006-12-10|publisher=Hamilton Spectator, The (ON)|date=2006-06-06|author=Barbara Brown|page=Section Local, A05]

References