Yasmin Ratansi
Member of Parliament
for Don Valley East
In office
October 19, 2015 – September 20, 2021
Preceded byJoe Daniel
Succeeded byMichael Coteau
In office
June 28, 2004 – May 2, 2011
Preceded byDavid Collenette
Succeeded byJoe Daniel
Personal details
Born (1951-01-04) January 4, 1951
Dar es Salaam, Tanganyika Territory
NationalityCanadian
Political partyIndependent
Other political
affiliations		Liberal (until 2020)
Residence(s)Maryvale, Scarborough, Toronto[1]
ProfessionAccountant, management consultant

Yasmin Ratansi (born January 4, 1951) is a Canadian former politician who represented the Toronto area riding of Don Valley East in the House of Commons from 2004 to 2011 and again from 2015 to 2021. She was elected as a Liberal in the 2004 federal election and served until her defeat in 2011. She was re-elected in 2015 and 2019. Ratansi left the Liberal Party on November 9, 2020 following a CBC News investigation that revealed she had violated parliamentary rules by using public funds to employ her sister in her constituency office. Ratansi sat as an independent for the remainder of her term and did not seek re-election in the 2021 election.

Ratansi is an Ismaili Muslim and was the first Muslim woman elected to Parliament.

Before politics

Born in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, she immigrated to Canada in 1974.[2] She worked as a management consultant. She is a Certified General Accountant (CGA), a member of the Certified General Accountants of Ontario, and a fellow of the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada. In 2009, Ratansi was bestowed with the John Leslie Award by CGA Canada, given in recognition of CGAs "who have achieved a high and favourable profile in the Canadian community."[3]

Politics

In 1979 Ratansi joined the Liberal Party of Canada and campaigned for David Collenette.[2] Later she was the federal Liberal candidate for Don Valley East in the 1988 federal election. In the nomination for the Liberal candidacy leading up to the vote, rival Mel Catre complained that voting irregularities allowed Ratansi supporters to vote freely while his supporters were barred from voting. A subsequent investigation failed to prove these allegations.[4] Ratansi finished in second place 2,838 votes behind the Conservative winner Alan Redway. She served on the party's federal campaign committee in 1992 and was treasurer of the party's Ontario wing from 1993 to 1997. In 1998 she served as one of three co-chairs on the campaign to elect Mel Lastman as mayor of the newly amalgamated city of Toronto.[5]

In 2004 she ran again facing former-member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) David Johnson. During her campaign she spoke about the issue of immigrant underemployment. She also supported a publicly run health system. She won the riding by more than 10,000 votes.[2]

During her tenure in Parliament, Ratansi sat through three parliamentary sessions. During this time she acted as the Official Opposition's critic for National Revenue and as critic for the Canada Revenue Agency. She also chaired a number of committees including the Status of Women Committee, and the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates.[6] She has also served as Liberal caucus treasurer.

Constituency office controversy and departure from the Liberal Party

On November 9, 2020, a CBC News investigation revealed that from 2005 to 2011, and again from 2017 to 2020, Ratansi used public funds to employ her sister, Zeenat Khatri, as a constituency assistant in her constituency office. This was a direct violation of parliamentary rules, which were amended in 2012 to add siblings to the list of individuals forbidden from being hired (previously only parents, spouses, and children were listed).[7]

Speaking with at least six former staffers, CBC News discovered both Ratansi and Khatri took various steps to conceal their relationship in the workplace.[7] Staffers who were informed or became aware were pressured to uphold the ruse and "be complicit in unethical behaviour" while others were reportedly kept in the dark.

On November 9, 2020, 30 hours after being presented with the findings of the investigation, Ratansi announced on Facebook that she was leaving the Liberal Party and would continue to sit as an Independent while "awaiting guidance" from the Ethics Commissioner. Ratansi wrote that she "made an error in judgment by employing [her] sister in [her] constituency office, and [has] remedied the situation, but this [did] not excuse the error [she] made."[7]

Liberal Party leader and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned her actions as "deeply [disappointing]" and "unacceptable" while committing to an investigation by parliamentary administration officials.[8]

In March 2021, the Board of Internal Economy ordered Ratansi to pay back $9,391 for employing her sister.[9] At the time, the Ethics Commissioner was still investigating her for allegedly employing her sister, verbally harassing staffers, and uttering racist remarks about certain minorities.[9] She did not seek re-election in the 2021 federal election.

In April 2021, a former employee of her constituency office sued her for verbal abuse.[10]

Electoral record

2019 Canadian federal election: Don Valley East
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalYasmin Ratansi25,29559.81+1.98$74,656.45
ConservativeMichael Ma10,11523.92-5.31$66,318.23
New DemocraticNicholas Thompson4,64710.99+0.63none listed
GreenDan Turcotte1,6753.96+1.37$3,743.20
People'sJohn P. Hendry5621.33-none listed
Total valid votes/expense limit 42,29499.98
Total rejected ballots 4381.02+0.41
Turnout 42,73264.23-1.31
Eligible voters 66,530
Liberal hold Swing +3.65
Source: Elections Canada[11][12]
2015 Canadian federal election: Don Valley East
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalYasmin Ratansi24,04857.82+19.43$109,579.16
ConservativeMaureen Harquail12,15529.23-7.16$127,111.51
New DemocraticKhalid Ahmed4,30710.36-11.52$9,377.74
GreenLaura Elizabeth Sanderson1,0782.59-0.21–
Total valid votes/expense limit 41,58899.39 $197,799.11
Total rejected ballots 2570.61
Turnout 41,84565.54
Eligible voters 63,845
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +13.30
Source: Elections Canada[13][14][15]
2011 Canadian federal election: Don Valley East
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
ConservativeJoe Daniel14,42236.78+5.78
LiberalYasmin Ratansi13,55234.56-13.51
New DemocraticMary Trapani Hynes9,87825.19+11.87
GreenAkil Sadikali1,1142.84-4.05
Christian HeritageRyan Kidd2460.63-0.07
Total valid votes 39,212100.00
Total rejected ballots 218 0.55–
Turnout 39,430 57.24–
Eligible voters 68,890 ––
2008 Canadian federal election: Don Valley East
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalYasmin Ratansi18,26448.07-5.92$67,602
ConservativeEugene McDermott11,77731.00+1.84$77,618
New DemocraticMary Trapani Hynes5,06213.32+0.43$5,282
GreenWayne Clements2,6186.89+2.95$4,032
Christian HeritageAlex Kovalenko2660.70–$163
Total valid votes/expense limit 37,987 100.00 $81,387
  Liberal hold Swing -3.88
2006 Canadian federal election: Don Valley East
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalYasmin Ratansi23,44153.99-0.6
ConservativeEugene McDermott12,66129.16+1.2
New DemocraticRichard Alan Hennick5,59712.89-0.3
GreenWayne Clements1,7143.94+1.0
Total valid votes 43,413100.00
2004 Canadian federal election: Don Valley East
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalYasmin Ratansi21,86454.6-12.0
ConservativeDavid Johnson11,20628.0+7.7
New DemocraticValerie Ann Mah5,28713.2+7.4
GreenDan King1,1722.9
Christian HeritageRyan Kidd3510.8+0.3
CommunistChristopher Black1490.4
Total valid votes 40,029 100.0

Note: Conservative vote is compared to the total of the Canadian Alliance vote and Progressive Conservative vote in 2000 election.

1988 Canadian federal election: Don Valley East
Party Candidate Votes%±%
Progressive ConservativeAlan Redway18,71944.7-9.7
LiberalYasmin Ratansi15,88137.9+3.9
New DemocraticBrant Loper6,31015.1+4.4
LibertarianMark Meschino5381.3+0.6
IndependentDavid Smith2710.6
CommunistMaria Kontopidis1550.4
Total valid votes 41,874 100.0

References

  1. ↑ "Search For Contributions". Elections Canada. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Nicole MacIntyre. Tories' Johnson returns to fray; Former education minister lost seat in 1999 protest vote Immigrant underemployment, high rents issues in riding. Toronto Star. may 24, 2004. pg. B1
  3. ↑ CGA Canada, John Leslie Award
  4. ↑ Liberal loser in Don Valley East complains backers couldn't vote. Toronto Star. July 11, 1988. Pg. A4
  5. ↑ William Walker. Colle defends mega flip-flop Harsh critic of unified city now on Lastman campaign team. Toronto Star, August 22, 1997. Pg. A5
  6. ↑ Parliament of Canada: Yasmin Ratansi, Federal experience. Last accessed March 12, 2010.
  7. 1 2 3 Burke, Ashley (9 November 2020). "Liberal MP out of caucus after employing sister for years using public funds". CBC News. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  8. ↑ Connolly, Amanda (10 November 2020). "Trudeau says it was 'unacceptable' for Toronto MP to hire sister with public funds". Global News. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  9. 1 2 Rana, Abbas (17 March 2021). "Ontario MPP Coteau 'very open' to seeking federal Liberal nomination in Don Valley East". Hill Times. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  10. ↑ Burke, Ashley; Everson, Kristen (14 April 2021). "Former employee sues MP Yasmin Ratansi, claims she fired him for attending abortion". CBC.ca. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  11. ↑ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  12. ↑ "Official Voting Results -". Elections Canada. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  13. ↑ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Don Valley East, 30 September 2015
  14. ↑ Elections Canada – Final Candidates Election Expenses Limits
  15. ↑ Elections Canada – Forty-Second General Election 2015 - Poll-by-poll results
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