James Karygiannis PC (/ˌkærɪdʒiˈænɪs/ ⓘ KARR-ij-ee-AN-iss; Greek: Δημήτρης Καρύγιαννης, romanized: Dimítris Karýgiannis, IPA: [ðiˈmitris kaˈriʝanis]; born May 2, 1955) is a former Canadian politician.
He served in the House of Commons of Canada as a Liberal MP from 1988 to 2014, and as member of the Toronto City Council from 2014 until 2020, when his seat was vacated due to campaign spending violations.
In opposition, Karygiannis attracted substantive attention from the media and various ethnic community groups as he took polemical stances on foreign policy issues and as part of his role as multiculturalism critic.
In making his decision, he told an interviewer that it was time for Chrétien to retire "with dignity", rather than risk a potentially divisive leadership review.
In April 2004, Karygiannis brought forward a private member's motion which recognized the death of 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1923 as a genocide.
Foreign Minister Bill Graham has defended the government's position that the event constituted a "tragedy" rather than the purposeful extermination of minority Armenians.
[16] In August 2011, Citizenship and Immigration Committee officers complained of Jim Karygiannis using abusive language and an aggressive tone while speaking to them.
The letter cited his poor attendance of the House of Commons and bad treatment of Canada's Turkish and Macedonian community as reasons to be considered unfit.
According to Tsai, Karygiannis contacted him by telephone saying he did not care about what they had written and expressing content that the authors of the letter "had been able to write in English".
[18] In July 2012, Karygiannis travelled to the South Caucasus region of Nagorno-Karabakh, on the invitation of the Armenian National Committee of Canada, to observe its presidential election.
The Azerbaijani ambassador to Canada Farid Shafiyev criticized Karygiannis for taking sides in the conflict and "pandering to radical elements within his constituency" in chase of "ethnic votes and disregarding international law."
[21] On August 1, members of Toronto's Azeri community held a protest in front of the office of the Liberal Party about Karygiannis's visit to Nagorno-Karabakh.
He was reported to have misinformed the authorities about the purpose of their visit, stating they had intended to participate in his father's wake, when in fact they were coming to Canada to perform at a paid concert.
He is a vocal opponent of Uber,[24][25] Karygiannis is a lifelong personal friend of Co-Op Cab company CEO Peter Zahakos.
On November 6, 2019, Karygiannis was removed as a member of City Council for Ward 22 due to misspending on the supplementary financial statement of his 2018 election.
[34] On November 25, Justice William Chalmers of the Ontario Superior Court ruled that Karygiannis's explanation was acceptable and that he could retake office immediately.
[41] In August 2011, Citizenship and Immigration Committee officers complained of Jim Karygiannis using abusive language and an aggressive tone while speaking to them.
The letter cited his poor attendance of the House of Commons and bad treatment of Canada's Turkish and Macedonian community as reasons to be considered unfit.
According to Tsai, Karygiannis contacted him by telephone saying he did not care about what they had written and expressing content that the authors of the letter "had been able to write in English".
[18] In July 2012, Karygiannis caused a diplomatic scandal when he travelled to the South Caucasus region of Nagorno-Karabakh on the invitation of the Armenian National Committee of Canada, which paid for the trip.
[44] The Azerbaijani ambassador to Canada Farid Shafiyev criticized Karygiannis for taking sides in the conflict and "pandering to radical elements within his constituency" in chase of "ethnic votes and disregarding international law."
Shafiyev also pointed to Karygiannis's illegal entry in Nagorno-Karabakh, as he had not obtained a visa or special permission from the Azerbaijani government that are required to travel there, but had instead entered through Armenia.
[45] On August 1, members of Toronto's Azeri community held a protest in front of the office of the Liberal Party, defying Karygiannis's unsanctioned visit to Nagorno-Karabakh.
He was reported to have misinformed the authorities about the purpose of their visit, stating they had intended to participate in his father's wake, when in fact they were coming to Canada to perform at a paid concert.
In 1999, Greek president Costis Stephanopoulos awarded him the decoration of the Officer's Gold Cross of the Order of Phoenix in recognition of his many public service contributions.
In 2014, Karygiannis was awarded the Mkhitar Gosh Medal from the Government of Armenia for his substantial input in international recognition of the Armenian Genocide.