Tom Kmiec
Conservative Party National Caucus Chair (elected)
In office
November 6, 2019 – August 15, 2021
LeaderAndrew Scheer
Erin O'Toole
Preceded byDavid Sweet
Succeeded byScott Reid
Member of Parliament
for Calgary Shepard
Assumed office
October 19, 2015
Preceded byConstituency established
Personal details
Born (1981-07-31) July 31, 1981
Gdańsk, Poland
Political partyConservative
Children4 (Lucy-Rose, d. 2018)
Residence(s)Calgary, Alberta
Alma materConcordia University (BA)
Regent University (MA)

Tomasz Kmiec MP (/kəˈmɪtʃ/ kə-MICH; born July 31, 1981) is a Polish-Canadian politician who serves as the Member of Parliament for Calgary Shepard in the House of Commons of Canada under the Conservative Party of Canada, first elected in 2015. He currently serves as Shadow Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Refugees.

Early life and education

Tom Kmiec was born in Gdańsk, Poland. His family immigrated to Canada and settled in Quebec. Kmiec was raised in Quebec and went through the French education system as part of the Bill 101 reforms. He is, hence, fluently bilingual in both of Canada's official languages. In 2005, he moved to Calgary. He is raising his three children, Maximillian, Jolie, and Enoch.

Kmiec graduated from Concordia University in Montreal with a bachelor's degree in Political Science. He then received his master's degree in American Government with a concentration in Terrorism and Homeland Security from Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA.[1]

Political career

Kmiec started his career as an intern in the office of then Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition, Stephen Harper. Kmiec has since worked for cabinet ministers federally and provincially in Alberta.

Prior to being elected as the MP for Calgary Shepard, Kmiec was the manager of policy and research with the Calgary Chamber of Commerce and worked for the Human Resources Institute of Alberta. This work received national coverage in the Globe and Mail and Maclean's magazine.

Kmiec was elected in the 2015 Canadian federal election for the riding of Calgary Shepard. Kmiec has served on the Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations, the Foreign Affairs and International Development Committee, and the Finance Committee. The latter two represent the most senior committees in Parliament.[2]

On September 18, 2017, Kmiec was moved from his role as Deputy Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs to the Deputy Shadow Minister for Finance. In this role, Kmiec was a strong voice for lower taxes, financial responsibility, and housing affordability.[3]

Kmiec was named deputy critic for foreign affairs for the Conservative Party of Canada on October 16, 2016, in a shadow cabinet shuffle by Interim Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose.[4][5]

On December 2nd, 2021, Kmiec was elected as Chair of Public Accounts Committee.[6]

Under Candice Bergen, former Interim Conservative Leader (February 2022 - September 2022), Kmiec was named Deputy House Leader, Co-Chair of Question Period Planning and Shadow Minister of Democratic Reform.

Under current Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, Kmiec serves as the Shadow Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.

Social issues

In 2016, Tom Kmiec was in agreement with the change to O Canada, however, after polling his riding, he voted in line with his constituents. 87% opposed the change to gender neutral.[7]

Abortion

Kmiec voted in support of Bill C-233 - An Act to amend the Criminal Code (sex-selective abortion), which would make it a criminal offence for a medical practitioner to perform an abortion knowing that the abortion is sought solely on the grounds of the child's sex.[8] Kmiec has been identified by Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada as a Member of Parliament with an anti-abortion stance.[9][10][11]

Bereavement leave

On November 22, 2021, Kmiec tabled Bill C-211,[12] An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code (bereavement leave), which would have expanded unpaid bereavement leave for parents. A month after tabling the bill, a deal was struck between Labour Minister Seamus O'Reagan and Conservative labour critic Scott Aitchison to add parts of Bill C-211 into Liberal Bill C-3.[13] Bill C-3, with the amendments from Bill C-211, received royal assent on December 17, 2021.[14]

Conversion therapy

On June 22, 2021, Kmiec was one of 63 MPs to vote against Bill C-6 An Act to amend the Criminal Code (conversion therapy). In October 2020, Tom Kmiec published a statement regarding the contents of Bill C-6.[15] This bill was passed by majority vote and made certain aspects of conversion therapy a crime, including "causing a child to undergo conversion therapy."[16]

Economic issues

In the fall of 2016, Kmiec helped start the Alberta Jobs Taskforce in response to the growing energy jobs crisis in Alberta after unemployment reached 200,000[17]

On April 18, 2018, Kmiec moved a motion at Parliament's finance committee asking to set aside 4 meetings to understand the impact of the Trans Mountain Expansion pipeline cancellation on Canada's economy and consider whether the federal government should use its constitutional powers to ensure that the pipeline is built. The Liberal MPs on the committee rejected the motion.[18]

Kmiec has been vocal in questioning the Liberal government's mortgage lending rules and increases to mortgage insurance fees charged by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).[19]

Kmiec has repeatedly called for a full parliamentary review of the B-20 Mortgage Stress Test, that was introduced by the Liberal government in January 2018. He has published a series of articles on the topic and has moved two motions at Parliament's finance committee asking for a study of the mortgage lending rules.[20] The Mortgage Stress Test is estimated to have prevented 100,000 Canadians from purchasing a home, slowed mortgage growth by nearly 12 percent, and will delete some 200,000 jobs from the economy by 2021.[21]

Foreign issues

In response to the religious persecution of Montagnards highlanders who practice De Ga Protestantism and Ha Mon Catholicism in Vietnam, Kmiec tabled a petition calling upon the Government of Canada to demand that the Vietnamese government stop its abusive policies against these groups. The petition further demanded that future trade agreements with Vietnam would be contingent on their adherence to the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and that under the Sergei Magnitsky Act, sanctions would be applied against Colonel Vu Van Lau and Senior Lt. Colonel Pham Huu Truong.[22]

Kmiec is also an advocate for Canada to support the minority Uyghur population in China's Xinjiang region, who are being targeted for their religious beliefs and detained in internment camps. In May 2019, Kmiec questioned the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board regarding their investments in two Chinese companies — Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co. Ltd. and Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co. Ltd. — that are involved in the manufacturing of surveillance equipment used to repress Uyghurs in Western China. Kmiec has urged the CPPIB to divest their holdings in these companies.[23]

Kmiec supported Canada's Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act, created in response to the death lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who was beaten to death in Russian custody.

Kmiec created the "Parliamentary Friends of the Kurds", a parliamentary group aimed at establishing dialogue between Canadian and Kurdish lawmakers and fostering positive relations between Canada and the Kurdistan Region.[24][25] Kmiec, along with NDP MP Gord Johns and fellow Conservative MP Michael Cooper traveled to Washington, D.C., in March 2016 to meet with officials from the Kurdistan Regional Government.[24]

Kmiec was the first Parliamentarian to unearth the Liberal government's $256 million pledge to the China-controlled Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which was hidden inside the Liberal government's 2017 omnibus budget, Bill C-63.[26][27]

Kmiec criticized the Liberals’ decision to gift $256 million to the AIIB, which is funding the construction of three new energy pipelines in Asia while the Liberal government opposes and stalls the construction of energy pipelines in Canada. Kmiec called on the Liberal government to cancel Canada's participation in the AIIB through a series of motions at parliament's finance committee, but the Liberal MPs on the committee voted down the motions.[28][29]

Personal life

On August 13, 2018, Kmiec’ s daughter, Lucy-Rose Evangeline Winfield Kmiec, died 39 days after her birth. Lucy-Rose was born with Trisomy 13, a rare chromosomal disorder also known as Patau Syndrome.[30] Following her death, Kmiec shared an emotional tribute to his daughter in the House of Commons. “Her short life was energetic and eventful. It has made me realize that life is much more than prizes, certificates and public recognition. Her great success is the incredible warmth she brought to my family and how she's been able to mature her older siblings into responsible caretakers without a spoken word” Kmiec stated.[31]

Kmiec holds Dual-citizenship with Poland.[32]

Electoral record

2019 Canadian federal election: Calgary Shepard
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
ConservativeTom Kmiec58,61475.0+9.13$41,477.43
LiberalDel Arnold8,64411.1-13.59$13,154.34
New DemocraticDavid Brian Smith6,8288.7+1.87none listed
GreenEvelyn Tanaka2,3453.0+0.39$3,079.74†
People'sKyle Scott1,7092.2-$15,461.75
Total valid votes/expense limit 78,140100.0
Total rejected ballots 441
Turnout 78,58169.8
Eligible voters 112,660
Conservative hold Swing +11.36
†Amount as submitted from C1 of Part 6 of the Candidate Campaign Return.
Source: Elections Canada[33][34][35]
2015 Canadian federal election: Calgary Shepard
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
ConservativeTom Kmiec43,70665.87–9.64$153,176.93
LiberalJerome James16,37924.69+17.50$7,037.44
New DemocraticDany Allard4,5326.83–4.30$10,097.24
GreenGraham MacKenzie1,7342.61–2.95–
Total valid votes/expense limit 66,351100.00 $241,369.87
Total rejected ballots 2080.31–
Turnout 66,55967.9–
Eligible voters 98,085
Conservative hold Swing –13.57
Source: Elections Canada[36][37][38]

References

  1. ↑ "About Tom". Tom Kmiec. Retrieved 2017-02-07.
  2. ↑ "Tom Kmiec – Member of Parliament – Members of Parliament – House of Commons of Canada". Ourcommons.ca. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
  3. ↑ "Private member's motions – Tom Kmiec – 42nd Parliament, 1st Session – Members of Parliament – House of Commons of Canada". Ourcommons.ca. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
  4. ↑ "OFFICIAL OPPOSITION SHADOW CABINET AS OF OCTOBER 16, 2016" (PDF). Gallery.mailchimp.com. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  5. ↑ "MP Tom Kmiec appointed Deputy Foreign Affairs Critic in new Shadow Cabinet shuffle - Tom Kmiec". Archived from the original on 2017-01-04. Retrieved 2017-01-04.
  6. ↑ "Minutes - PACP (44-1) - No. 1 - House of Commons of Canada". www.ourcommons.ca. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  7. ↑ "Debates (Hansard) No. 62 - May 31, 2016 (42-1) - House of Commons of Canada". www.ourcommons.ca. Retrieved 2022-08-10.
  8. ↑ "2nd reading of Bill C-233, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (sex-selective abortion)". House of Commons. June 2, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Members of Parliament with an Anti-choice Stance" (PDF). Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada. June 27, 2022. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  10. ↑ Climenhaga, David (May 4, 2022). "Canadian Conservatives, heavily influenced by Republican ideology, are keen to squelch debate about U.S. Supreme Court's planned abortion ruling". Alberta Politics. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  11. ↑ "More Than Half of Andrew Scheer's Elected Conservative MPs Were Supported by Anti-Abortion Groups". Press Progress. Oct 25, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  12. ↑ "C-211 (44-1) - LEGISinfo - Parliament of Canada". www.parl.ca. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  13. ↑ "C-3 (44-1)". www.parl.ca. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  14. ↑ Woolf, Marie (2021-12-21). "Liberals, Conservatives agree on extending leave for grieving parents". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  15. ↑ Kmiec, Tom (October 29, 2020). "My Statement on Bill C-6". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2022-08-10.
  16. ↑ "Viersen votes against ban on conversion therapy".
  17. ↑ "Treat Alberta job losses as national crisis, MPs urge government". Retrieved 2019-10-04.
  18. ↑ "Finance Committee on April 18th, 2018". openparliament.ca. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
  19. ↑ "KMIEC: Liberal failures block young Canadians from home ownership". Toronto Sun. 2019-03-16. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
  20. ↑ Kmiec, Tom (2018-06-19). "Opinion: Let's study impact of mortgage stress tests on home ownership". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
  21. ↑ "Kmiec: Mortgage changes reduce chance of owning a home". Calgary Herald. 2018-06-21. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
  22. ↑ "Vietnam: Montagnards Harshly Persecuted". Human Rights Watch. 2011-03-30. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
  23. ↑ "CPPIB challenged to divest from Chinese firms tied to abuses against Uyghurs – Canadian Business". Canadianbusiness.com. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  24. 1 2 "Canadian MPs visit KRG Representation in Washington to discuss parliamentary group on Kurdistan". Kurdistan Regional Government – Department of Foreign Relations. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  25. ↑ "Friendship Groups - Interparliamentary Activities - Diplomacy". Parl.ca. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  26. ↑ Conservative Party of Canada. "Liberals Building Pipelines in Asia". Pipeline Priorities. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  27. ↑ "Information archivée dans le Web" (PDF). publications.gc.ca. Public Services and Procurement Canada. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  28. ↑ "Azerbaijan: Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project (TANAP) – Approved Project". Aiib.org. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  29. ↑ "Finance bureaucrats, House committee need to stop working in silos on budget planning, says ex-PBO Page". The Hill Times. 2018-12-12. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  30. ↑ Wood, James (2018-08-16). "Calgary MP Tom Kmiec mourning death of newborn daughter". Calgary Herald. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  31. ↑ "Tory MP Honours Daughter He Lost After Only 39 Days". HuffPost Canada. 2018-10-15. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  32. ↑ Harris, Kathleen (2017-12-10). "As Australia ousts MPs with dual citizenship, Canada's Parliament embraces many in its ranks". CBC News. Archived from the original on 2023-07-08.
  33. ↑ "Forty-Third General Election 2019 - Official Voting Results: List of candidates by electoral district and individual results". Elections Canada. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  34. ↑ "Forty-Third General Election 2019 - Official Voting Results: Voting results by electoral district". Elections Canada. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  35. ↑ "Candidate Campaign Return". Elections Canada. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  36. ↑ "Forty-Second General Election 2015 - Official Voting Results: List of candidates by electoral district and individual results". Elections Canada. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  37. ↑ "Forty-Second General Election 2015 - Official Voting Results: Voting results by electoral district". Elections Canada. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  38. ↑ "Candidate Campaign Return". Elections Canada. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
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