Amir Khadir
Encyclopedia
Amir Khadir is a politician in the National Assembly of Quebec
(MNA), Canada
for the electoral district of Mercier
, and currently the male spokesperson for Québec Solidaire
, a sovereignist and left-wing political party which was created by the merger of the Union des Forces Progressistes
and Option Citoyenne
, a feminist political movement, in February 2006.
On December 8, 2008, Khadir became the first and only elected representative for Québec Solidaire in the general election in Quebec.
.
He studied medicine at Université Laval
, physics at McGill University
, and completed postdoctoral studies at the Université de Montréal
.
A medical specialist in infectious microbiology
, he practices at the Centre hospitalier Pierre-Le-Gardeur in Lachenaie
. Khadir is a member of the Coalition des Médecins pour la Justice Sociale (Coalition of Doctors for Social Justice), which opposes the privatization of the Quebec health system. He has led missions to Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Palestinian territories for Médecins du Monde and until 2004 presided over the administrative council of SUCO (Solidarité-Union-Coopération).
Khadir is married to Nima Machouf. They have three children, named Daria, Yalda and Leyli.
, Khadir ran as a Bloc Québécois
candidate in the riding of Outremont
. He received 28% of the vote and finished second against Liberal
incumbent Martin Cauchon
.
Khadir was a member of the Rassemblement pour une alternative politique
(RAP) from its inception in 1997 and took part in the founding of the Union des Forces Progressistes in June 2002 and at one point was the spokesperson for the party.
In the fall of 2005, Khadir signed the Manifesto for a Québec based on solidarity.
In August 2010, Khadir was a signatory of an open letter to French President Nicolas Sarkozy
urging that France pay almost $23-billion in slavery reparations to help Haiti
rebuild following the 2010 Haiti earthquake
.
On February 9, 2011, a motion was brought forward in the Quebec National Assembly to condemn the boycott of Le Marcheur. Khadir was the sole MNA to vote against it and prevent its being debated (unanimity is required for such a motion to go to debate). Several members of the National Assembly’s other three parties: François Bonnardel
of the Action Démocratique du Québec
, Parti Québécois
MNA Martin Lemay
and Liberal party member Lawrence Bergman
subsequently visited the store to show their support and demonstrate their opposition to the boycott.
Khadir later defended his support for boycotts of Israeli products but insisted there had been a "terrible misunderstanding" between himself and Archambault. Khadir denied that he asked people not to enter the store but stated that he only informed customers about the boycott. Khadir subsequently claimed that he misunderstood the nature of the protest, despite the clear message on the pamphlet he held while taking part (the pamphlet said “Boycott Le Marcheur” and vowed to continue the campaign until the store stopped selling Israeli products). Khadir also stated that he now regrets taking part and that he wants people to boycott the products, not the merchant. In an email release, Khadir stated that “I would have hoped the owner would be sensitive to the ethical issues of business and would join the boycott, but that is not the case, which is his right.”
, Khadir is currently one of the two most prominent members of Québec solidaire
, a left-wing party whose province-wide support never scored more than five percent of the vote.
He ran for a seat in the National Assembly of Quebec
in the Montreal-based district of Mercier
against Daniel Turp of the Parti Québécois
in the 2003
, 2007
and 2008 elections.
On his first attempt, he finished third with 18% of the vote under the Union des forces progressistes
party line. During Khadir's second bid, the first as part of the newly formed Québec Solidaire
, he placed second, with 29% of the vote.
In 2008, Khadir won the seat and became the first Québec Solidaire candidate elected. He garnered 39% of the vote. During that campaign, Khadir received the endorsement of Robert Perreault, a former PQ cabinet member who represented the district from 1994
to 2000.
A poll conducted for the newspapers Le Devoir
and The Montreal Gazette
in early December 2010, established that Khadir was the most popular politician in Québec, with an approval rating of 45%.
investigated Khadir and his family because of their support for the People's Mujahedin of Iran
(PMOI), an organization that opposed the government of Ayatollah Khomeini and which faced fierce repression by the Iranian government. Khadir declared in an interview that he was very involved in the movement saying "I was the main facilitator of the opponents of the mullah
s regime" but that in the mid 1980s he took his distance from this organization because he disagreed with their "autocratic turn" and their support for violence against the Iranian regime. The United States
in 1997, The Council of the European Union
in 2002, Canada
in 2005, Iraq
, and Iran
have designated the PMOI a terrorist organization. On January 26, 2009, the Council of the European Union
removed the PMOI from the EU terror list. The group said it was the outcome of a “seven-year-long legal and political battle”.
through Montreal and Quebec City by the newlywed Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, referring to them as "parasites".
at a picture of the president outside the U.S. Consulate at a protest in Montreal in December 2008. The event was supposed to symbolically replicate Muntadhar al-Zaidi
's actual attempted shoeing of the President in Iraq
. He and other protesters then headed to the Canadian Forces
recruitment centre on Sainte Catherine Street and threw shoes at a photograph of American president George W. Bush
. Khadir was accused of betraying the "dignity and responsibilities of a[n] MNA," though Khadir himself says his constituents expected nothing less.
National Assembly of Quebec
The National Assembly of Quebec is the legislative body of the Province of Quebec. The Lieutenant Governor and the National Assembly compose the Parliament of Quebec, which operates in a fashion similar to those of other British-style parliamentary systems.The National Assembly was formerly the...
(MNA), Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
for the electoral district of Mercier
Mercier (provincial electoral district)
Mercier is a provincial electoral district in Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. The district is located in Montreal. It is bounded to the north and east by the Canadian Pacific Railway, to the south by Rue Rachel and to the west by Avenue de l'Esplanade. The...
, and currently the male spokesperson for Québec Solidaire
Québec Solidaire
Québec solidaire is a democratic socialist and sovereigntist political party in Quebec, Canada, that was created on 4 February 2006 in Montreal. It was formed by the merger of the left-wing party Union des forces progressistes and the alter-globalization political movement Option Citoyenne, led...
, a sovereignist and left-wing political party which was created by the merger of the Union des Forces Progressistes
Union des forces progressistes
The Union des forces progressistes was a left- wing political party in Quebec, Canada from 2002-2006. Four parties merged to form the UFP in 2002 out of desire to unite Quebec's political left:* the Rassemblement pour l'alternative progressiste ,...
and Option Citoyenne
Option citoyenne
Option citoyenne was an altermondialist and feminist political organization in the Canadian province of Quebec. The group was created by Françoise David in 2004; David and François Saillant were its official spokespersons. Option citoyenne gave official support to the left-wing Union des forces...
, a feminist political movement, in February 2006.
On December 8, 2008, Khadir became the first and only elected representative for Québec Solidaire in the general election in Quebec.
Biography
He was born in Tehran in 1961 and migrated to Quebec at the age of ten. He was involved in many humanitarian organizations such as Médecins du MondeMédecins du Monde
Médecins du Monde or Doctors of the World, is a non-governmental humanitarian aid organisation created in March 1980 by 15 French doctors, including Bernard Kouchner after he had left Médecins Sans Frontières , the aid society which he had co-founded earlier in 1971...
.
He studied medicine at Université Laval
Université Laval
Laval University is the oldest centre of education in Canada and was the first institution in North America to offer higher education in French...
, physics at McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
, and completed postdoctoral studies at the Université de Montréal
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal is a public francophone research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It comprises thirteen faculties, more than sixty departments and two affiliated schools: the École Polytechnique and HEC Montréal...
.
A medical specialist in infectious microbiology
Microbiology
Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, which are defined as any microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell , cell clusters or no cell at all . This includes eukaryotes, such as fungi and protists, and prokaryotes...
, he practices at the Centre hospitalier Pierre-Le-Gardeur in Lachenaie
Lachenaie, Quebec
Lachenaie is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada on the Rivière des Prairies. It is located within the city of Terrebonne, and is in the Regional County Municipality of Les Moulins...
. Khadir is a member of the Coalition des Médecins pour la Justice Sociale (Coalition of Doctors for Social Justice), which opposes the privatization of the Quebec health system. He has led missions to Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Palestinian territories for Médecins du Monde and until 2004 presided over the administrative council of SUCO (Solidarité-Union-Coopération).
Khadir is married to Nima Machouf. They have three children, named Daria, Yalda and Leyli.
Federal politics
In the federal election of 2000Canadian federal election, 2000
The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of the 37th Parliament of Canada....
, Khadir ran as a Bloc Québécois
Bloc Québécois
The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...
candidate in the riding of Outremont
Outremont (electoral district)
Outremont is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1935 to 1949, and since 1968...
. He received 28% of the vote and finished second against Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
incumbent Martin Cauchon
Martin Cauchon
Martin Cauchon, PC is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He is a former Liberal Cabinet Minister.Cauchon was born in La Malbaie, Quebec and studied law at the University of Ottawa and the University of Exeter...
.
Activism
Khadir worked with the Yes side in the 1980 sovereignty referendum.http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2010/05/20/quebec-referendum-anniversary.html#ixzz0oVzIttp2Khadir was a member of the Rassemblement pour une alternative politique
Rassemblement pour l'alternative progressiste
The Rassemblement pour l'alternative progressiste or RAP originated as the Rassemblement pour l'alternative politique, a social movement founded in 1996 as an attempt to unite the progressive and leftist forces in Quebec, Canada...
(RAP) from its inception in 1997 and took part in the founding of the Union des Forces Progressistes in June 2002 and at one point was the spokesperson for the party.
In the fall of 2005, Khadir signed the Manifesto for a Québec based on solidarity.
In August 2010, Khadir was a signatory of an open letter to French President Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
urging that France pay almost $23-billion in slavery reparations to help Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
rebuild following the 2010 Haiti earthquake
2010 Haiti earthquake
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...
.
Boycott controversy
In December 2010, Khadir participated in protests organized by Palestinian and Jewish Unity (PAJU) that were held outside of the Boutique Le Marcheur, a shoe store in Montreal, because the store sells shoes made in Israel. The protestors stated that they would continue to demonstrate outside the store until it stops selling shoes made in Israel. The store's owners, Yves Archambault and Ginette Auger, dismissed the protest, stating that “No one – no one is going to dictate to me what to sell.” Archambault sharply criticized Khadir, stating that he found it "horrible” that his MNA representative was verbally inciting customers not to enter his store. Archambault responded that Israeli products constitute only 2% of his store's goods, but announced that he would not give in to the protesters' demands.On February 9, 2011, a motion was brought forward in the Quebec National Assembly to condemn the boycott of Le Marcheur. Khadir was the sole MNA to vote against it and prevent its being debated (unanimity is required for such a motion to go to debate). Several members of the National Assembly’s other three parties: François Bonnardel
François Bonnardel
François Bonnardel is the Action démocratique du Québec Member of the National Assembly of Quebec, Canada, for the electoral district of Shefford....
of the Action Démocratique du Québec
Action démocratique du Québec
The Action démocratique du Québec, commonly referred to as the ADQ is a centre-right political party in Quebec, Canada. On the sovereignty question, it defines itself as autonomist, and has support from both soft nationalists and federalists....
, Parti Québécois
Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for the province of Quebec and secession from Canada. The Party traditionally has support from the labour movement. Unlike many other social-democratic parties, its ties with the labour movement are informal...
MNA Martin Lemay
Martin Lemay
Martin Lemay is a politician in Quebec, Canada. He is the Parti Québécois Member of the National Assembly for Sainte-Marie—Saint-Jacques in the National Assembly of Quebec.-Background:...
and Liberal party member Lawrence Bergman
Lawrence Bergman
Lawrence S. Bergman is a politician in Quebec, Canada. He is the current Member of National Assembly of Quebec for the riding of D'Arcy-McGee in Montreal's West end and Chairperson of the Government Caucus in the parliamentary office of Quebec.He received a Bachelor of Arts from Sir George...
subsequently visited the store to show their support and demonstrate their opposition to the boycott.
Khadir later defended his support for boycotts of Israeli products but insisted there had been a "terrible misunderstanding" between himself and Archambault. Khadir denied that he asked people not to enter the store but stated that he only informed customers about the boycott. Khadir subsequently claimed that he misunderstood the nature of the protest, despite the clear message on the pamphlet he held while taking part (the pamphlet said “Boycott Le Marcheur” and vowed to continue the campaign until the store stopped selling Israeli products). Khadir also stated that he now regrets taking part and that he wants people to boycott the products, not the merchant. In an email release, Khadir stated that “I would have hoped the owner would be sensitive to the ethical issues of business and would join the boycott, but that is not the case, which is his right.”
Provincial politics
Along with fellow QS spokesperson Françoise DavidFrançoise David
Françoise David, CQ is the spokesperson, with Amir Khadir, of Québec solidaire - a left-wing, feminist and sovereignist political party in the province of Quebec, Canada. Quebec Solidaire was born from the merger of Option Citoyenne with l'Union des Forces Progressistes...
, Khadir is currently one of the two most prominent members of Québec solidaire
Québec Solidaire
Québec solidaire is a democratic socialist and sovereigntist political party in Quebec, Canada, that was created on 4 February 2006 in Montreal. It was formed by the merger of the left-wing party Union des forces progressistes and the alter-globalization political movement Option Citoyenne, led...
, a left-wing party whose province-wide support never scored more than five percent of the vote.
He ran for a seat in the National Assembly of Quebec
National Assembly of Quebec
The National Assembly of Quebec is the legislative body of the Province of Quebec. The Lieutenant Governor and the National Assembly compose the Parliament of Quebec, which operates in a fashion similar to those of other British-style parliamentary systems.The National Assembly was formerly the...
in the Montreal-based district of Mercier
Mercier (provincial electoral district)
Mercier is a provincial electoral district in Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. The district is located in Montreal. It is bounded to the north and east by the Canadian Pacific Railway, to the south by Rue Rachel and to the west by Avenue de l'Esplanade. The...
against Daniel Turp of the Parti Québécois
Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for the province of Quebec and secession from Canada. The Party traditionally has support from the labour movement. Unlike many other social-democratic parties, its ties with the labour movement are informal...
in the 2003
Quebec general election, 2003
The Quebec general election of 2003 was held on April 14, 2003, to elect members of the National Assembly of Quebec . The Parti libéral du Québec , led by Jean Charest, defeated the incumbent Parti Québécois, led by Bernard Landry.-Unfolding:...
, 2007
Quebec general election, 2007
The Quebec general election of 2007 was held in the Canadian province of Quebec on March 26, 2007 to elect members of the 38th National Assembly of Quebec. The Quebec Liberal Party led by Jean Charest managed to win a plurality of seats, but were reduced to a minority government, Quebec's first in...
and 2008 elections.
On his first attempt, he finished third with 18% of the vote under the Union des forces progressistes
Union des forces progressistes
The Union des forces progressistes was a left- wing political party in Quebec, Canada from 2002-2006. Four parties merged to form the UFP in 2002 out of desire to unite Quebec's political left:* the Rassemblement pour l'alternative progressiste ,...
party line. During Khadir's second bid, the first as part of the newly formed Québec Solidaire
Québec Solidaire
Québec solidaire is a democratic socialist and sovereigntist political party in Quebec, Canada, that was created on 4 February 2006 in Montreal. It was formed by the merger of the left-wing party Union des forces progressistes and the alter-globalization political movement Option Citoyenne, led...
, he placed second, with 29% of the vote.
In 2008, Khadir won the seat and became the first Québec Solidaire candidate elected. He garnered 39% of the vote. During that campaign, Khadir received the endorsement of Robert Perreault, a former PQ cabinet member who represented the district from 1994
Quebec general election, 1994
The Quebec general election of 1994 was held on September 12, 1994, to elect members of the National Assembly of Quebec, Canada. The Parti Québécois, led by Jacques Parizeau, defeated the incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Daniel Johnson, Jr.....
to 2000.
A poll conducted for the newspapers Le Devoir
Le Devoir
Le Devoir is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and the rest of Canada. It was founded by journalist, politician, and nationalist Henri Bourassa in 1910....
and The Montreal Gazette
The Gazette (Montreal)
The Gazette, often called the Montreal Gazette to avoid ambiguity, is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, with three other daily English newspapers all having shut down at different times during the second half of the 20th century.-History:In 1778,...
in early December 2010, established that Khadir was the most popular politician in Québec, with an approval rating of 45%.
Opposition to Khomeini
The Canadian Security Intelligence ServiceCanadian Security Intelligence Service
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service is Canada's national intelligence service. It is responsible for collecting, analyzing, reporting and disseminating intelligence on threats to Canada's national security, and conducting operations, covert and overt, within Canada and abroad.Its...
investigated Khadir and his family because of their support for the People's Mujahedin of Iran
People's Mujahedin of Iran
The People's Mujahedin of Iran is a terrorist militant organization that advocates the overthrow of the Islamic Republic of Iran....
(PMOI), an organization that opposed the government of Ayatollah Khomeini and which faced fierce repression by the Iranian government. Khadir declared in an interview that he was very involved in the movement saying "I was the main facilitator of the opponents of the mullah
Mullah
Mullah is generally used to refer to a Muslim man, educated in Islamic theology and sacred law. The title, given to some Islamic clergy, is derived from the Arabic word مَوْلَى mawlā , meaning "vicar", "master" and "guardian"...
s regime" but that in the mid 1980s he took his distance from this organization because he disagreed with their "autocratic turn" and their support for violence against the Iranian regime. The United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1997, The Council of the European Union
Council of the European Union
The Council of the European Union is the institution in the legislature of the European Union representing the executives of member states, the other legislative body being the European Parliament. The Council is composed of twenty-seven national ministers...
in 2002, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in 2005, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, and Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
have designated the PMOI a terrorist organization. On January 26, 2009, the Council of the European Union
Council of the European Union
The Council of the European Union is the institution in the legislature of the European Union representing the executives of member states, the other legislative body being the European Parliament. The Council is composed of twenty-seven national ministers...
removed the PMOI from the EU terror list. The group said it was the outcome of a “seven-year-long legal and political battle”.
Other controversies
In a 2011 interview, Khadir expressed his opposition towards the use of tax dollars for an upcoming royal tourRoyal tours of Canada
Canadian royal tours have been taking place since 1786, and continue into the 21st century, either as an official tour, a working tour, a vacation, or a period of military service by a member of the Canadian Royal Family...
through Montreal and Quebec City by the newlywed Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, referring to them as "parasites".
Criticism of the United States
Khadir has also expressed criticism of the Bush administration's policies, throwing his shoesShoeing
Shoeing, throwing shoes, showing the sole of one's shoe or using shoes to insult are forms of protest in many parts of the world.Incidents where shoes were thrown at political figures have taken place in Australia, India, Ireland, Israel, Hong Kong, Pakistan, the United Kingdom and most notably,...
at a picture of the president outside the U.S. Consulate at a protest in Montreal in December 2008. The event was supposed to symbolically replicate Muntadhar al-Zaidi
Muntadhar al-Zaidi
Muntadhar al-Zaidi is an Iraqi broadcast journalist who served as a correspondent for Iraqi-owned, Egyptian-based Al-Bagh. , al-Zaidi works with a Lebanese TV channel....
's actual attempted shoeing of the President in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. He and other protesters then headed to the Canadian Forces
Canadian Forces
The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
recruitment centre on Sainte Catherine Street and threw shoes at a photograph of American president George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. Khadir was accused of betraying the "dignity and responsibilities of a[n] MNA," though Khadir himself says his constituents expected nothing less.