Bas Balkissoon : Ask Biography

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Bas Balkissoon (born ca. 1952) is a politician in Toronto, Ontario. Formerly the Toronto city councillor representing Ward 41 in northeast area of Scarborough, Balkissoon won election to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on November 24, 2005 as the Liberal Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Scarborough-Rouge River.

Born in Trinidad and Tobago, and of Indian descent, Balkissoon rose to prominence as the head of Scarborough Homeowners Alliance For Fair Taxes, an organization that challenged the province's property assessment system. In 1988, he ran for Scarborough city council in what was then Ward 13. With the formation of the new amalgamated city of Toronto, he was elected to Toronto City Council in 1997. As chair of the city's Audit Committee he was credited with uncovering a dubious computer leasing deal between the city and MFP Financial, which eventually led to the formation of the Toronto Computer Leasing Inquiry. Balkissoon also served for a period on the Police Services Board on which he was critical of then-Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino as well as the Toronto Police Association and its leader at the time, Craig Bromell.

On November 24, 2005 Balkissoon was elected as the Member of Provincial Parliament in the riding of Scarborough-Rouge River, replacing Alvin Curling who was appointed as the Canadian ambassador to the Dominican Republic. Balkissoon, as the Liberal Party candidate, won with 58% of the vote. Conservative candidate Cynthia Lai received 24% of the vote and the NDP's Sheila White finished third with 15%. In the Liberal nomination prior to the by-election, the party chose to use a clause in its constitution that declared other candidates invalid, effectively handing the nomination to Balkissoon. This excluded other contenders such as Raymond Cho who considered putting his name forward.

Balkissoon was re-elected on October 10, 2007, more than doubling his vote total from the by-election, and defeating his closest opponent by over 17,000 votes. October 30, Balkissoon was named Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. He is the Chairman of the Legislative Assembly Committee and is a member of the Select Committee for Mental Health and Addictions. Bas served on the Select Committee that developed the Poverty Reduction Strategy in 2008. He was the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Community Safety in 2006/2007.