Yasir Naqvi : Ask Biography

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Yasir Naqvi MPP (born 1973) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2007 provincial election, representing the riding of Ottawa Centre. He is also the President of the Ontario Liberal Party.

Naqvi was born and raised in Pakistan and immigrated to Canada with his family in 1988 at the age of 15. Naqvi is a graduate of McMaster University and the University of Ottawa Law School. He was called to the Bar in Ontario in 2001 and began practicing law at Flavell Kubrick LLP, specializing in international trade law and eventually becoming a partner. He continued his practice with Lang Michener LLP after that firm merged with Flavell Kubrick LLP in 2005. He left Lang Michener in 2007 to join the Law at Carleton University.

The Ottawa Citizen named Naqvi as one of its "People to Watch in 2010", with a profile in the January 9, 2010 Saturday Observer headlined "Yasir Naqvi, he's a firecracker. Ottawa Life magazine also included him in its Tenth Annual "Top 50 People in the Capital" list for 2010. In a September 2011 column, Adam Radwanski of The Globe and Mail called Naqvi " possibly the hardest-working constituency MPP in the province."

Prior to entering politics he volunteered with a number of community associations including the Centertown Community Health Centre and the Ottawa Food Bank. He has continued to organize the Capital Food Blitz after his election.

He was appointed Parliamentary Assistant to Rick Bartolucci, the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services, in the cabinet announcement of October 30, 2007. On October 3, 2008, he was named Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Revenue Dwight Duncan. On June 24, 2009 a cabinet shuffle moved John Wilkinson into the role of Minister of Revenue and Naqvi was kept on as his Parliamentary Assistant. On September 2, 2010 Naqvi was appointed Parliamentary Assistant to Minister of Education Leona Dombrowsky.

As an MPP, Naqvi has introduced one Motion and three Private Members' Bills to the Ontario Legislature since arriving in 2007:

#Bill 106, the “Safer Communities and Neighborhoods Act”, was introduced on October 2, 2008. Bill 106 is awaiting 3rd reading in the Legislature after passing committee review in February 2010, and carried over to the 2nd legislative session following prorogation of the Ontario Legislature in March 2010. The bill enables municipalities to shutter residences or properties with chronic and disruptive criminal activity for 90 days.

#On September 17, 2009 Mr. Naqvi introduced a co-sponsored Motion with NDP MPP France Gélinas declaring the third week of February “Kindness Week”, inspired by a successful Kindness Week initiative underway in Ottawa; the motion was passed with a unanimous vote.

#Bill 194, the City of Ottawa Amendment Act, was introduced on June 3, 2009. The Bill amends the City of Ottawa Act 1999 to establish an independent board of health for the City of Ottawa. Although Bill 194 was not carried over in the 2010 prorogation, it was embedded as Schedule 2 of the March 2010 Ontario Budget and enacted in to law on May 18, 2010.

# Bill 53, the “Escaping Domestic Violence Act”, was introduced on May 5, 2010, unanimously passed Second Reading on May 13, 2010, and is awaiting review by the Standing Committee on Social Policy. The Bill amends the Residential Tenancies Act 2006 to shorten the period of notice required to terminate a tenancy for victims of domestic violence.

In March 2010, an email was sent out by a party masquerading as Yasir Naqvi, attributing statements regarding Israeli Apartheid Week to him. Within hours of the email message being sent out, a press release was issued repudiating the email.

His brother Ali has been a candidate for both the federal New Democratic Party (NDP) and its provincial counterpart, the Ontario NDP.