- Wajid Khan
Infobox Officeholder
name=Wajid Ali Khan
term_start=2004 election
term_end=
predecessor=Steve Mahoney
birth_date= birth date and age |1946|04|24
birth_place= )
successor=
profession= Politician
party=Conservative Party of Canada
(Feb 3 ,2008 -present)
otherparty=Liberal Party of Canada
(2003-2007)Conservative Party of Canada
(Jan 5 ,2007 -Nov 23 ,2007 )
Independent
(Nov 23 ,2007 -Feb 3 ,2008 )
residence=Toronto
riding=Mississauga—Streetsville
footnotes=
term_start2=
term_end2=
predecessor2=
spouse=Tasnim Khan
religion=Islam Wajid Ali Khan (born
April 24 ,1946 inLahore ,Pakistan ) is a Canadian businessman andpolitician . He is a current member of theCanadian House of Commons , representing the riding ofMississauga—Streetsville as a ConservativeMember of Parliament .Khan served as an officer and pilot in the
Pakistan Air Force from 1966 to 1973. [Turley-ewart, John.National Post ,"For Liberals, the wrong kind of Muslim", January 10, 2007] . He took part in the India-Pakistan war in 1971 as aShenyang J-6 fighter pilot. He was shot down during one of his missions and spent some time as aPrisoner of War .He moved to
Toronto ,Canada , in 1974. Since then, he has emerged as a prominent voice in the city's Pakistani andMuslim communities of the city. Prior to his election, he was the President and CEO of the largest automobile showroom in Canada, that of DufferinMazda . He can still be heard advertising for his dealership regularly on the FAN 590 morning Radio Show in Toronto.Khan entered politics as a member of the Liberal Party, and supported
Paul Martin for the party leadership in 2003. He was elected with over 50% support inMississauga—Streetsville in the 2004 federal election, defeating ConservativeNina Tangri by nearly a 20 percentage point margin. Along withYasmin Ratansi , Khan was the first MuslimMember of Parliament (MP) to be elected for the Liberal Party.Rahim Jaffer , also a Muslim MP, had been elected for the Reform Party in 1997.Khan voted against his government's same-sex marriage bill on June 28, 2005.
Khan was re-elected in the 2006 federal election, defeating Conservative
Raminder Gill by an 11% margin. After his reelection, he was appointed Associate Critic for National Defense, and more recently Associate Critic for Treasury Board. Khan initially supportedJoe Volpe in the 2006 Liberal leadership campaign, and later joined Volpe in throwing his support behindBob Rae . As a Liberal, Khan voted against the extension of Canada's combat mission in Afghanistan until 2009.He was appointed as special advisor to Prime Minister
Stephen Harper for the Middle East and Afghanistan onAugust 8 2006 . In response to criticisms about providing support for his Conservative political opponents, Khan emphasized the non-partisan nature of his appointment, noting that he sought and received the approval of Liberal leaderBill Graham prior to taking on the responsibility. [cite news|url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060809.wadviser09/BNStory/National/home|title=PM picks Muslim Liberal MP as adviser on Mideast|date=August 9, 2006|accessdate=2007-01-17|publisher=The Globe and Mail|first=Campbell|last=Clark] Khan was sent to the Middle East on a 16-day trip to prepare a report on conditions there; before departing, he promised that the report would be made public upon his return, a promise which later became a point of contention. cite news|url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071029.waccess29/BNStory/National/home|title=Khan report blocked, despite Tory promise on secrecy|date=29 October 2007|first=Campbell|last=Clark|accessdate=2007-10-29|publisher=The Globe and Mail]Early in January 2007, media outlets began reporting speculation that Khan was considering
crossing the floor to join the Conservative Party. [cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/01/05/dion-khan-070105.html|title=Liberal MP with Tory advisory role will not defect: Dion|date=January 5, 2007|accessdate=2007-03-01|work=cbc.ca] Liberal leaderStéphane Dion had stated that he would not permit Khan to continue in his role as an advisor to Stephen Harper while sitting as a Liberal MP. On January 5, Khan crossed the floor to the Conservatives. [cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/01/05/khan-defect-070105.html|title=MP Khan bolts Liberals for Tories|date=January 5, 2007|accessdate=2007-01-05|work=cbc.ca]Following his defection to the Tories, there were calls from Khan's former Liberal colleagues for his Middle East report to be made public as promised; however, Prime Minister Harper refused this, saying that publication of the report would make Khan "a pundit and not an advisor." [cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/02/08/harper-khan.html|title=Khan report won't be made public: Harper|publisher=CBC News|date=8 February 2007|accessdate=2007-10-29]
On January 15, 2007 it was revealed that Khan's old Liberal riding association had been deregistered by Elections Canada effective December 31, 2006. Khan's businesses lent a nearly $180,000 to the riding association in a two-year period. While loans to riding associations are permissible, the magnitude of the loans from Khan's business was considered highly unusual. [cite web|url=http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=1525362f-2306-44e5-829c-044167b84f1f|title=New Tory lent $179,946 to ex-Liberal associates|accessdate=2007-01-15|work=canada.com (Ottawa Citizen)] However, Elections Canada later ruled that no wrongdoing had been committed by Khan. [cite web|url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070118/elections_canada_070118?s_name=&no_ads=|title=Elections Canada says Khan can lend himself money|accessdate=2007-03-01|work=CTV.ca]
On November 15, 2007, Khan was charged under the Elections Act with overspending by $30,000 in the previous election campaign. Khan, his business, and his riding president were also charged with election spending unauthorized by his official agent. On November 23, 2007, he announced that he would withdraw from the Conservative caucus and sit as an Independent MP. [ [http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=9d815c5f-a962-4fb9-977d-2b7f52669ac2&k=0 "Ontario Tory MP charged under the Elections Act"] , Canadian Press, 23 November 2007.] On February 3, 2008, Chief Government Whip Jay Hill announced that Khan had fully concluded the matter with Elections Canada and had been readmitted to the Conservative caucus. [ [http://www.canada.com/topics/news/politics/story.html?id=fbc09f3c-5285-47dd-b03a-3f630d1f9655&k=61119 "Conservatives welcome Khan back into the fold"] , Ottawa Citizen, 3 February 2008.]
References
External links
* [http://www.wajidkhan.ca/ Official Website]
* [http://www.votekhan.ca/ Election Website]
* [http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Files/Parliamentarian.aspx?Item=97fa4cf0-c7f7-4b3e-8d59-905a0c93a8d6&Language=E&Section=FederalExperience Parliament of Canada webpage]
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