Monia Mazigh ( ar, منية مازيغ) (born 1970) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

author and academic best known for her efforts to free her husband

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 ...

from a Syrian prison. A resident of Ottawa,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, she was the New Democratic Party candidate for the riding of

Ottawa South Ottawa South (french: Ottawa-Sud) is a federal electoral district in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is represented in the House of Commons of Canada by David McGuinty, brother of former Premier of Ontario and Ottawa South MPP Dalton McGuinty ...

, a traditionally

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

riding, in the 2004 federal election. In June 2015 she was appointed National Coordinator of the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group.

Early life and education

Mazigh was born and raised in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

and emigrated to Canada in 1991, at the age of 21. She has a PhD in

financial economics Financial economics, also known as finance, is the branch of economics characterized by a "concentration on monetary activities", in which "money of one type or another is likely to appear on ''both sides'' of a trade". William F. Sharpe"Financia ...

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 speaks

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and French fluently. In 2000, she started working for the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottaw ...

as a research assistant and later as a French-language instructor. She has stated that until 2002, her goal was to become a professor instead of a politician.

The Maher Arar case and political activism

Mazigh first entered the public spotlight when her husband was deported to Syria in 2002 by the US government, on suspicion of terrorist links. He was tortured and held without charge for over a year before being returned to Canada. Mazigh joined with a number of human rights groups to press the government for his release. She appeared frequently in the media and was widely respected for her tireless efforts. Of her willingness to speak out, she has said that she was never afraid: "I had lost my life. I didn't have more to lose." She was courted by the Liberal Party, but chose to stand as a candidate for the NDP. Mazigh had reportedly grown personally close with NDP foreign affairs critic, and former federal leader, Alexa McDonough, and she perceived the NDP as having been more emphatic than the other parties in calling for her husband's release. During a leaders' debate, NDP leader

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 ...

said that the party was proud to have her as a candidate. However, Mazigh's candidacy was unusual in that Mazigh personally does not support

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

; had she been elected she would have been the only NDP MP, alongside Desmond McGrath, NDP candidate in the riding of Random-Burin-St. George's in

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic Canada, Atlantic region. The province comprises t ...

, to oppose same-sex marriage by abstaining from a vote. While campaigning Mazigh said that she would abstain if Parliament was ever called to vote on the issue because of her reluctance to vote against a human rights issue. She also joined several individuals and groups in criticizing the NDP's more friendly attitude to Israel following the departure of Svend Robinson from the role of foreign affairs critic. She ran against but lost to Liberal candidate David McGuinty, the brother of Ontario premier

Dalton McGuinty Dalton James Patrick McGuinty Jr. (born July 19, 1955) is a former Canadian politician who served as the 24th premier of Ontario from 2003 to 2013. He was the first Liberal leader to win two majority governments since Mitchell Hepburn nea ...

. Despite finishing third, her 8,080 votes were the highest the NDP has ever won in Ottawa South federally or provincially until Henri Sader won 8,138 votes in 2006. After running in the election, she worked for a while as a policy researcher at NDP headquarters in Ottawa. Some of her areas of expertise included

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

(such as budget issues) and

child care Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...

. She was employed as a professor of finance, at

Thompson Rivers University Thompson Rivers University (commonly referred to as TRU) is a Public university, public teaching and research university offering Undergraduate education, undergraduate and Postgraduate education, graduate Academic degree, degrees and Vocational ...

in Kamloops,

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

for about one year until spring 2007. She currently resides in Ottawa. In 2011, Mazigh endorsed the Canadian Boat to Gaza, part of the Freedom Flotilla 2 which aims to end the Israeli

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are leg ...

imposed on the 1.6 million Palestinian civilians living in the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

Electoral record

, - bgcolor="white" , align="right" colspan=3, Difference , align="right", 5,334 , align="right", 8.95 , align="right", -17.9 , - bgcolor="white" , align="right" colspan=3, Rejected Ballots , align="right", 361 , align="right", 0.61 , align="right", +0.2 , - bgcolor="white" , align="right" colspan=3, Turnout , align="right", 59,591 , align="right", 69.67 , align="right", +7.7 , - bgcolor="white"

Bibliography

* '' Hope and Despair: My Struggle to Free My Husband, Maher Arar'' (2008) * '' Mirrors and Mirages'' (2010) * '' Hope Has Two Daughters'' (2017)

References

External links

rabble.ca ColumnMonia Mazigh BlogTwitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mazigh, Monia 1970 births Living people McGill University alumni New Democratic Party candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Politicians from Ottawa Canadian Muslims Tunisian emigrants to Canada Ontario candidates for Member of Parliament Women in Ontario politics 21st-century Canadian women politicians