Tom Wappel

Thomas William Wappel (born February 9, 1950) is a Canadian politician.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto (1971), and a Bachelor of Laws from Queen's University (1974).

He was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1976, and worked in civil litigation and corporate law.

Wappel is a member of the Knights of Columbus.

He was a Liberal member of the House of Commons from 1988 to 2008, representing the Toronto riding of Scarborough West and its successor riding of Scarborough Southwest.

Wappel won the Scarborough West Liberal nomination in 1988 in a surprising upset over Patrick Johnston, a star candidate who had been personally recruited by party leader John Turner.

His campaign was supported by members of the anti-abortion group Campaign Life, and his election platform included a pledge of "respect for human life, from conception to the natural end of life".

He also opposed the Canada-United States free trade agreement, and criticized the media for portraying him as a single-issue candidate.

He won a narrow victory in the general election, defeating Progressive Conservative incumbent Reg Stackhouse by 440 votes.

During the election, Campaign Life activists circulated a pamphlet that accused Stackhouse of supporting "baby-killing" in some circumstances.

There is no evidence that Wappel personally endorsed the pamphlet.

The Progressive Conservatives won a majority government in 1988, and Wappel entered parliament as a member of the opposition.

John Turner resigned as party leader in 1989, and a new leadership contest was called to select his replacement.

Wappel was the first declared candidate in the Liberal Party's 1990 leadership convention, announcing his candidacy on June 29, 1989.

He described himself as the only candidate willing to make abortion a leadership issue.

Wappel spoke against abortion in all circumstances, saying that while rape and incest are terrible tragedies, "they cannot possibly be compounded by the further tragedy of destroying human life."

He also called for increased immigration to Canada and harsher penalties against drug traffickers, while opposing the Meech Lake Accord and "distinct society" status for Quebec.

Wappel spoke against federal daycare programs during one all-candidates meeting, arguing that the Canadian government should promote stay-at-home parenting instead.

Late in the campaign, he said that he did not consider single-parent households or same-sex couples to be families.

His candidacy was not supported by any other MPs although he won the endorsement of Liberals for Life, an anti-abortion pressure group working inside the Liberal Party, in March 1990.

During his nomination speech at the convention, Wappel called for abortion to be made a criminal offence with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

He finished in fourth place, as Jean Chrétien won the leadership on the first ballot.

Wappel was appointed as the Liberal Party's immigration critic in January 1991.

Late in the year, he prepared an internal party document calling for the creation of detainment camps (to be called Welcome Centres) for refugees arriving in Canada.

Claimants would be provided with food, lodging and clothing, but would not be permitted to work outside the centre while their cases were under review.

The proposal also called for any claimant with HIV to be automatically denied status.

His suggestions were leaked to the media, and were immediately rejected by the Liberal Party leadership.

He was removed as the Liberal Party's immigration Critic in January 1992, and reassigned as critic for the Solicitor-General.

In his new position, he called for increased safeguards in Canada's parole system.

Wappel was endorsed by the Canadian Police Association in the 1993 federal election, and focused his campaign on "law and order" issues.

He was easily re-elected as the Liberals won a majority government nationally.

Wappel was not appointed to Jean Chrétien's cabinet, and was a frequent critic of his own party's social legislation.

He opposed the Chrétien government's decision to extend anti-discrimination protection to homosexuals in 1994, describing homosexuality as "statistically abnormal, [...] physically abnormal and [...] morally immoral".

In 1998, he was awarded the Joseph P. Borowski Award.

He is separated, with five children.

Wappel was born in Toronto, to Hungarian parents.

He did not seek re-election in the 2008 general election.

Wappel is a staunch social conservative.

He is a prominent opponent of abortion and gay rights, and has made controversial comments on immigration and the role of religion in government.

He opposes the death penalty, and describes himself as holding liberal views on economic issues.