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Roman Baber

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Roman Baber
Baber in 2016
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament
for York Centre
In office
June 7, 2018 – May 3, 2022
Preceded byMonte Kwinter
Succeeded byMichael Kerzner
Personal details
BornSoviet Union[1]
Political partyConservative (federal)
Other political
affiliations		Progressive Conservative (provincial; until 2021)
Residence(s)Toronto, Ontario
Occupation
  • Politician
  • lawyer
Websitehttps://www.joinroman.ca/

Roman Baber (born 1980) is a Canadian politician who was the member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for York Centre from 2018 to 2022. Baber was elected as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario until he was removed by Premier Doug Ford, the party leader, in January 2021. He sat as an Independent until the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly on May 3, 2022.

He was a candidate in the 2022 leadership election of the Conservative Party of Canada. In August 2023, Baber was announced as the federal Conservative candidate for York Centre in the next federal election.[2][3]

Early life

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Baber was born and raised in the former Soviet Union. He and his family moved to Israel when he was eight, before immigrating to Canada in 1995, when he was 15.[4][5][6]

Baber's family settled in Toronto in the Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue area, an area he represented. He is a lawyer by profession and attended William Lyon Mackenzie Collegiate Institute and York University, before earning his law degree at the University of Western Ontario.[4]

Political career

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Baber was elected as the MPP for York Centre in the 2018 provincial election.[7]

Autism file and Baber Report

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In April 2019, Baber was asked by Premier Doug Ford to review the government's autism program. Baber's review, later termed the Baber Report, was provided anonymously to The Globe and Mail after it was shared with the government's Autism Advisory Panel.[8] On July 29, 2019, the Ontario government apologized to the families of autistic children for the initial plan and acknowledged that the changes to the autism program announced earlier that year were poorly conceived.[9][10][11]

Removal from PC Party

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He was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party caucus until January 15, 2021 when Premier Doug Ford removed him from caucus over his opposition to the province's lockdown and restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, with Baber stating in an open letter to Premier Ford, "the lockdown is deadlier than COVID".[12][13][14]

Baber was Chair of Parliament's Justice Policy Committee until his removal by a Government motion on February 16, 2021.[15]

He did not run for re-election in the 2022 Ontario general election.

Federal Conservative leadership candidate

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On March 9, 2022, Baber declared his intent to run in the 2022 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election.[16] Baber ran on a platform of restoring Canada's democracy. Inspired by his ejection from Premier Doug Ford's PC caucus, Baber pledged to allow MPs to vote their conscience and express their personal views without fear of repercussions. He pledged to oppose Quebec's Bill 21 and Bill 96, repeal the Trudeau government's carbon tax, end Canada's equalization program, phase out supply management, and more. On September 10, it was announced that Pierre Poilievre won the leadership on the first ballot with 68.15% of the votes cast. Baber placed fourth, garnering 5.03% of the points and 5.4% of the votes cast.[17]

References

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  1. ^ "About - Join Roman - Sign Up Now". July 3, 2022. Archived from the original on July 3, 2022. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  2. ^ "Baber wins York Centre Conservative nomination". August 12, 2023.
  3. ^ "Roman Baber seeking federal Conservative nomination in York Centre". Toronto Star. April 30, 2023.
  4. ^ a b "'It's Been a Busy Summer' – MPP Roman Baber on his New Job at Queen's Park". Canadian Jewish News. August 30, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  5. ^ "Roman Baber, MPP - Toronto". August 16, 2021. Archived from the original on August 16, 2021. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  6. ^ "PCs' Roman Baber wins York Centre, says voters want 'Ontario back on track'". Toronto Star. June 8, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  7. ^ Sunshine, Fannie (June 7, 2018). "PCs' Roman Baber wins York Centre, says voters want 'Ontario back on track'". Toronto Star.
  8. ^ "Autism advocates calling for Ontario to adopt full program reset laid out in PC MPP's review". Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  9. ^ "Ford government announces reversal of contentious autism program - CityNews Toronto". toronto.citynews.ca. July 29, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  10. ^ "Ontario government apologizes for autism program changes; needs-based model won't launch until next April". Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  11. ^ "Ontario Newsroom | Salle de presse de l'Ontario". news.ontario.ca. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  12. ^ Benzie, Robert (January 15, 2021). "Premier Doug Ford turfs MPP Roman Baber from Tory caucus for opposing COVID-19 lockdown". Toronto Star. Torstar. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  13. ^ "Ford ousts MPP from caucus over open letter pushing for end to COVID-19 lockdown". cbc.ca. January 15, 2021.
  14. ^ "Ford turfs York Centre MPP who wrote open letter saying 'lockdown is deadlier than COVID'".
  15. ^ "Hansard Transcript 2021-Feb-16". www.ola.org. Legislative Assembly of Ontario. February 16, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  16. ^ "Independent Ontario MPP Roman Baber to enter Conservative party leadership race". Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  17. ^ Tasker, John Paul (September 10, 2022). "Conservative members pick MP Pierre Poilievre to be their new leader". CBC News. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
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