Rahim Jaffer

Rahim Jaffer
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Edmonton—Strathcona
In office 1997–2008
Preceded by	Hugh Hanrahan
Succeeded by	Linda Duncan
Personal details
Born	Rahim Nizar Jaffer December 15, 1971 Kampala, Uganda
Political party	Conservative (2003-present)
Other political affiliations	Reform (1997-2000) Canadian Alliance (2000-2003)
Spouse(s)	Helena Guergis
Children	Zavier Rahim Nizarali Guergis Jaffer
Residence	Edmonton, Alberta
Profession	businessman, entrepreneur
Religion	Nizari Ismaili Shia Islam

Rahim Nizar Jaffer (Urdu: رحيم جعفر‎; born December 15, 1971) is a former Canadian politician and a former Member of Parliament. He served in the Canadian House of Commons from 1997 to 2008, representing the Alberta riding of Edmonton—Strathcona as a member of the Conservative Party. He was the first Muslim elected to the Canadian Parliament. Jaffer became embroiled in a national controversy in 2010 after he appeared to receive special treatment, "a break," from the justice system after being charged with drunk driving and possession of cocaine.^[1]

Early life

Jaffer was born to an Ismaili Muslim family in Kampala, Uganda. When he was a young child, he and his family emigrated to Canada to escape further persecution in Uganda after the government of Idi Amin confiscated their business and their home. They settled in Edmonton.

Jaffer completed a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Ottawa in Political Science and Economics. He took his degree in the French language. He also served as a legislative assistant in the House of Commons. After completing his degree he returned to Edmonton, where he operated a successful coffee shop in the heart of the Old Strathcona district.

Political career

Jaffer was elected to the House of Commons as the Member of Parliament for Edmonton-Strathcona on June 2, 1997, at the age of 25. He won the seat as a member of the Reform Party of Canada (later the Canadian Alliance, which later merged with the Progressive Conservatives to form the Conservative Party). Along with fellow newly elected MP's Jason Kenney and Rob Anders and advisor Ezra Levant, Jaffer was part of an up-and-coming group of young Reformers which pundits dubbed the "Snack Pack" due to their relative girth.

In 2001, Matthew Johnston, an aide to Jaffer, impersonated him during a radio interview that Jaffer was himself unable to attend. Jaffer subsequently apologized for the stunt in the House of Commons, and was suspended from his caucus position for several months.^[2]

In the 2006 election, Jaffer was re-elected to serve a fourth term as the Member of Parliament for Edmonton—Strathcona. On February 8, 2006, he was named chair of the Conservative caucus by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Jaffer lost his seat in the 2008 election after he was defeated by New Democrat Linda Duncan. Jaffer was initially reluctant to concede defeat, but finally did so on October 16 after the results were officially validated by the riding returning officer.^[3] Jaffer was the only Alberta Conservative MP to lose his seat in the 2008 election.

In 2009, Jaffer expressed interest in re-seeking the Conservative nomination for Edmonton-Strathcona. However, he declined to do so after it was claimed that he was shut out of nomination process.^[4]

Jaffer was once voted "laziest MP" in an annual survey by the Hill Times.^[5]

Personal life

On October 15, 2008, Jaffer married his former caucus colleague Helena Guergis, by then a Cabinet minister. This was her second marriage and his first.

Jaffer and Guergis became engaged in October 2007. Reportedly at the initiative of Guergis,^[3] the couple decided on the morning after the election to scrap their planned wedding date and to get married immediately. Their wedding was presided over by Ian McClelland, a former Member of Parliament and a licensed marriage commissioner, later that same day at McClelland's home. The marriage was witnessed by the couple's parliamentary colleague James Rajotte, and by one of Jaffer's cousins.^[6] In December 2010, the couple had a baby boy, whom they named Zavier Rahim Nizarali Guergis Jaffer.^[7]

Arrest and conviction

On September 11, 2009, Jaffer was stopped late at night by the Ontario Provincial Police, while he was traveling at a rate of 93 km/h in a 50 km/h zone, on Regional Road 50 in town of Palgrave, Ontario, located close to his wife's riding.^[1] The OPP officer noticed a smell of alcohol, on Jaffer's breath, and after administering a breathalyzer test, found him to be over the Ontario legal blood-alcohol limit of .08.^[8][9] Jaffer's driver's licence was suspended for 90 days, and he was charged with drunk driving and possession of an undisclosed quantity of cocaine.^[10] The location of the cocaine is a source of contention between police and Jaffer. The arresting officer stated that the drugs were found in Jaffer's pants pocket, whereas Jaffer's defense team claimed that the cocaine was in his suit jacket. Earlier in the evening, he had met in Toronto with Nazim Gillani, an entrepreneur and businessman. Gillani claimed he was a banker for the Hells Angels.^[11]

Jaffer was initially scheduled to appear in court in Orangeville, Ontario on October 19, 2009.^[10] During the 2008 election, Jaffer's campaign approved radio ads accusing NDP leader Jack Layton of being soft on marijuana use. The ads said, in part, "Edmontonians understand how difficult it is to make sure our children make the right choices, especially on serious issues like drug use. The Conservative Party supports drug-free schools and getting tough with drug dealers who sell illegal drugs to children. Don't let our schools go up in smoke. On Oct. 14, vote Conservative."^[12] On Tuesday, March 9, 2010, Jaffer pleaded guilty to one charge of careless driving and was sentenced to a fine of $500. The cocaine possession and drunk driving charges were withdrawn.^[13][14] Justice Doug Maund told Jaffer "I’m sure you can recognize a break when you see one."^[15] The light sentence and the dropping of the more serious charges triggered outrage across Canada,^[16] as well as more extensive investigation of events leading up to the incident prompting the arrest, which led to allegations Jaffer met with several escorts.^[17]

Electoral record

Canadian federal election, 1997: Edmonton—Strathcona
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Reform	Rahim Jaffer	20,605	41.30	+1.95	$58,003
	Liberal	Ginette Rodger	17,654	35.38	−3.12	$58,244
	New Democratic	Jean McBean	7,251	14.53	+9.48	$42,936
	Progressive Conservative	Edo Nyland	3,614	7.24	−4.05	$10,183
	Green	Karina Gregory	406	0.81	+0.23	$520
	Natural Law	Maury Shapka	153	0.30	−0.29
	Independent	Naomi Rankin	115	0.23	+0.05	$1,732
	Canadian Action	J. Alex Ford	92	0.18	–	$845
Total valid votes			49,890	100.00
Total rejected ballots			101	0.20
Turnout			49,991	62.74

Canadian federal election, 2000: Edmonton—Strathcona
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Alliance	Rahim Jaffer	23,463	42.00	+0.70	$57,365
	Liberal	Jonathan Dai	17,816	31.89	−3.49	$48,430
	New Democratic	Hélène Narayana	8,256	14.78	+0.25	$25,883
	Progressive Conservative	Gregory Toogood	5,047	9.03	+1.79	$4,252
	Marijuana	Ken Kirk	814	1.45	–	$149
	Canadian Action	Kesa Rose Semenchuk	299	0.53	+0.35	$1,485
	Marxist–Leninist	Kevan Hunter	164	0.29	–	$275
Total valid votes			55,859	100.00

Canadian federal election, 2004: Edmonton—Strathcona
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Rahim Jaffer	19,089	39.40	−2.60	$67,449
	Liberal	Debby Carlson	14,057	29.01	−2.88	$67,910
	New Democratic	Malcolm Azania	11,535	23.80	+9.02	$46,100
	Green	Cameron Wakefield	3,146	6.49	–	$2,353
	Marijuana	Dave Dowling	519	1.07	−0.38
	Marxist–Leninist	Kevan Hunter	103	0.21	−0.08	$26
Total valid votes			48,449	100.00
Total rejected ballots			150	0.31
Turnout			48,599	65.66

Canadian federal election, 2006: Edmonton—Strathcona
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Rahim Jaffer	22,009	41.71	+2.31	$75,063
	New Democratic	Linda Duncan	17,153	32.51	+8.71	$53,478
	Liberal	Andy Hladyshevsky	9,391	17.80	−11.21	$76,923
	Green	Cameron Wakefield	3,139	5.95	−0.54	$755
	Progressive Canadian	Michael Fedeyko	582	1.10	–	$0.0
	Marijuana	Dave Dowling	390	0.74	−0.33	$0.0
	Marxist–Leninist	Kevan Hunter	106	0.20	−0.01	$16
Total valid votes			52,770	100.00
Total rejected ballots			148	0.28	−0.03
Turnout			52,918	70.6	+3.9

Canadian federal election, 2008: Edmonton—Strathcona
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Linda Duncan	20,103	42.58	+10.07	$71,669
	Conservative	Rahim Jaffer	19,640	41.60	−0.11	$81,597
	Liberal	Claudette Roy	4,279	9.06	−8.74	$72,953
	Green	Jane Thrall	3,040	6.44	+0.49	$3,801
	Marxist–Leninist	Kevan Hunter	147	0.31	+0.11
Total valid votes/Expense limit			47,209	99.79		$82,492
Total rejected ballots			99	0.21	−0.07
Turnout			47,308	65.4	−5.2

References

1. "Special treatment? Jaffer's drunk driving charges dropped". CBC News. March 10, 2010. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
2. "Jaffer to apologize to House of Commons". CBC News. March 19, 2001. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
3. "Jaffer concedes race, ties the knot". CBC News. October 16, 2008. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
4. "Jaffer shut out of nomination process in Edmonton riding". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 7 May 2009. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
5. "Strathcona race just what's needed to inspire maverick-style debate". Edmonton Journal. October 4, 2008. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
6. Darcy Henton,"MP lost seat, gained bride in 24 hours", Canwest News Service, as carried in the National Post, October 17, 2008.
7. "Guergis, Jaffer welcome baby boy". CBC News. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
8. Donovan, Kevin (April 8, 2010). "The story behind Ex-MP Rahim Jaffer's drunk-driving arrest - thestar.com". Toronto: www.thestar.com. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
9. "Jaffer facing drunk driving, cocaine charges", The Toronto Star, September 16, 2009.
10. Hammer, Kate (September 16, 2009). "Ex-MP Jaffer facing drug, DUI charges". The Globe and Mail (Toronto). Retrieved 2015-05-30.
11. Donovan, Kevin (April 10, 2010). "Financier boasted of his ties to bikers - thestar.com". Toronto: www.thestar.com. Retrieved 2010-04-10.
12. "Former MP Jaffer faces charges of cocaine possession, drunk driving", Globe and Mail, September 17, 2009
13. "Rahim Jaffer pleads guilty to careless driving charge". The Globe and Mail (Toronto). Retrieved 2015-05-30.
14. McLean, Jesse (March 9, 2010). "Drug, drunk driving charges dropped against former Tory MP - thestar.com". Toronto: www.thestar.com. Retrieved 2010-03-09.
15. Taber, Jane (March 9, 2010). "Tories bristle when asked to explain Rahim Jaffer's 'slap on the wrist' - The Globe and Mail". Toronto: theglobeandmail.com. Retrieved 2010-03-09.
16. "CTV Edmonton - Jaffer court case sparks outrage across Canada - CTV News". edmonton.ctv.ca. Retrieved 2010-03-31.
17. Donovan, Kevin (April 8, 2010). "Toronto Star - The story behind Ex-MP Rahim Jaffer's drunk-driving arrest". www.thestar.com. Retrieved 2010-04-08.

External links

• Rahim Jaffer (archived version of http://www.rahimjaffer.com retrieved on Jun 12, 2008)
• Rahim Jaffer – Parliament of Canada biography