Craig M. Scott (born March 14, 1962) is a Canadian politician and academic. Formerly a law professor at

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The law school is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the Journal of Law and Social Policy, and the '' Osgoode Hall L ...

and a director of the Jack and Mae Nathanson Centre on Transnational Human Rights, Crime and Security, he was elected as the New Democratic Party candidate in a federal by-election in

Toronto—Danforth Toronto—Danforth (formerly Broadview—Greenwood) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1979. It lies to the east of Downtown Toronto. Its best-known MP was ...

on March 19, 2012, following the death of

Jack Layton John Gilbert Layton (July 18, 1950 – August 22, 2011) was a Canadian academic and politician who served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2003 to 2011 and leader of the Official Opposition in 2011. He previously sat on To ...

in August 2011."Danforth byelection: NDP hangs on to Jack Layton stronghold"
''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'', March 19, 2012.

Background

Scott was born and raised in

Windsor, Nova Scotia Windsor is a community located in Hants County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a service centre for the western part of the county and is situated on Highway 101. The community has a history dating back to its use by the Mi'kmaq Nation for sev ...

. From 1979 to 1981, he attended

Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific (Pearson College UWC) is one of eighteen schools and colleges around the world in the UWC (United World Colleges) movement. It is named after the late Canadian Prime Minister Lester Bowles Pea ...

in Canada, where he gained the

International Baccalaureate Diploma The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is a two-year Curriculum, educational programme primarily aimed at 16-to-19-year-olds in 140 countries around the world. The programme provides an internationally accepted qualification fo ...

. He then earned undergraduate degrees from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

and from the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

where he was a Rhodes Scholar at St John's College. He has a Bachelor of Laws from Dalhousie University and a Masters of Law from the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

. His academic specialty is

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

with a focus on human rights law. Scott was a professor in the

University of Toronto Faculty of Law The University of Toronto Faculty of Law (U of T Law, UToronto Law) is the law school of the University of Toronto. The Faculty's admissions process is the most selective of law schools in Canada and is one of the most selective in North America. ...

from 1989 to 2001. He was Osgoode Law School's Associate Dean (Research and Graduate Studies) from 2001 to 2004 and has remained on the faculty subsequently. Scott and his partner Kovit Ratchadasri previously owned the Craig Scott Gallery, an art gallery on Berkeley Street near Toronto's

Distillery District The Distillery District is a commercial and residential district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, east of downtown, which contains numerous cafés, restaurants, and shops housed within heritage buildings of the former Gooderham and Worts Distillery. ...

Advisor

Scott was an advisor to the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...

during its period in exile during the

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

era and subsequently assisted in the drafting of portions of the post-apartheid

Constitution of South Africa The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, it sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the Gover ...

. In 1993-1994, he served as co-counsel for the government of

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

before the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...

and has also been involved in human rights issues relating to Iraq, Sri Lanka and Honduras where he was involved with the

Truth Commission A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state act ...

held in the aftermath of the 2009 Honduran coup d'état. He also advised rights seeking groups in Canada in regards to legal challenges using the

Charter of Rights and Freedoms The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte canadienne des droits et libertés), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part o ...

and assisted

Maher Arar Maher Arar ( ar, ماهر عرار) (born 1970) is a telecommunications engineer with dual Syrian and Canadian citizenship who has resided in Canada since 1987. Arar was detained during a layover at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Septem ...

in his lawsuit against the Canadian government.

Political career

Scott was selected as the New Democratic Party's candidate for the Toronto—Danforth by-election on January 9, 2012. He won the seat on March 19, 2012 winning 59% of the vote, despite a strong campaign by second-place Liberal finisher, Grant Gordon. Scott was defeated for re-election in 2015 by Liberal

Julie Dabrusin Julie A. Dabrusin (born April 16, 1971) is a Canadian Liberal politician. She was elected to represent the riding of Toronto—Danforth in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 federal election. Dabrusin earned university degrees in law ...

amid the massive Liberal wave that swept through Toronto.

Electoral record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Craig 1962 births Living people New Democratic Party MPs Canadian human rights activists People from Windsor, Nova Scotia Politicians from Toronto Gay politicians Canadian LGBT Members of Parliament Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Lawyers in Ontario Canadian legal scholars York University faculty University of Toronto Faculty of Law faculty Canadian Rhodes Scholars McGill University alumni Dalhousie University alumni Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Alumni of the London School of Economics 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century LGBT people People educated at a United World College