Following the senior Emery's death, Loretto began teaching at an elementary school to supplement meager social assistance, financial support from family, and charity from the local community.

In the late 1970s, Comartin sued brake manufacturer Bendix on behalf of widow Lucie Dunn to have her husband's death by mesothelioma recognised as a compensable injury.

[35] Comartin campaigned on job creation and expanding healthcare coverage against Liberal incumbent Shaughnessy Cohen, who was considered vulnerable after a personal finance scandal in which she defaulted on her debt.

While the by-election was mainly considered a competition between Comartin and Limoges, Bruck Easton was once again fielded as the candidate of the Progressive Conservatives, while Reform nominated mortgage broker and former magician Scott Cowan.

[38] Besides a general decline in Liberal popularity, it was speculated that the closeness of the race was in part because of high ticket sales in Windsor for an anticipated Detroit Tigers game happening on the same day.

[41] The rematch was very similar to the previous year, with it being mainly considered a competition between Comartin and Limoges, and with Bruck Easton appearing yet again as the Progressive Conservative candidate.

[61] Once back in Canada, Comartin called for the Canadian government's ban on Hezbollah to be lifted, on the grounds that there was not sufficient evidence to categorise it as a terrorist group.

He prominently criticised an unpopular plan to convert the residential area Michigan Central Railway Tunnel into an international highway, and supported putting stricter measures in place to prevent American police from pursuing suspects into Canada after recent incidents in Windsor and Niagara Falls.

[76] Comartin also campaigned on expanding Windsor's auto industry through business incentives for pollution-efficient manufacturing, and through protectionist policies to prevent outsourcing to the United States.

[82] He also supported the expiry of temporary changes to the Criminal Code made after 9/11 which allowed the police to make arrests without a warrant and which could force witnesses to testify in closed courts.

Following the passage of the Civil Marriage Act, Fabbro published an open letter announcing that Comartin would be suspended from all liturgical privileges and public church activities.

Jim Roche, the episcopal vicar of Windsor, clarified that Comartin remained a Catholic in good standing and would still be able to receive communion, but otherwise supported Fabbro's position.

Spokesman Ron Pickersgill, representing Bishop Fabbro and the London diocese, announced that the decision had been made because of declining attendance and high upkeep costs.

As a result, the NDP voted in favour of a motion of no-confidence put forward by the Conservative Party, which forced a rare winter election scheduled to take place in January 2006.

Cotler had previously acted as the lawyer or public advocate for Russian dissidents Natan Sharansky, Andrei Sakharov, Alexander Nikitin, and Sergei Magnitsky.

Comartin did not vote in the poll as he had a personal boycott against Maclean's for being "grossly unfair and inaccurate" in its consistently low ranking of the University of Windsor as a school.

Following his re-election, Comartin called for greater cooperation between the NDP and the Liberals, foreshadowing his support for an unsuccessful attempt by the two parties to form a coalition government after the election.

[120] However, during the coalition negotiations Comartin also mounted an unsuccessful challenge against Liberal incumbent Peter Milliken for the role of Speaker of the House,[121] placing fourth on the fifth ballot behind Millikin and Conservatives Andrew Scheer and Mervin Tweed.

[126] He also declined to formally endorse a candidate in the leadership race in order to maintain his impartiality as House Leader, but spoke highly of Niki Ashton and hosted her campaign event in Windsor.

[137] While initially hesitant to take the position, Comartin ultimately accepted in order to facilitate an expansion of the auto industry in Windsor following the ratification of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA)[138] His term began on October 29, 2018.

[143] Comartin reported to the inquiry that there was great concern in American political circles that the different branches of the Canadian government seemed unable to work together to remove the blockade prior to the use of the Emergencies Act, resulting in billions of dollars in lost revenue from stopped international commerce.

Comartin opposes selling office buildings owned by the federal government on the grounds that more revenue can be accumulated through rent than through the lump-sum income earned from a sale.

[162] During a crucial 2005 budget vote, Comartin accused Prime Minister Paul Martin of bribing Conservative MPs to cross the floor to the Liberal Party in exchange for desirable postings.

Migrant workers in Leamington, Ontario testified to Comartin in early 2001 that they were forced to spray pesticides without protection and work without overtime pay in poor living conditions under the threat of being deported back to Mexico.

[189] In his role as justice critic, Comartin announced the NDP would not support a Liberal bill making it easier for the federal government to seize the assets of convicted gang members and drug traffickers.

Additionally, Comartin supports expanding the availability of youth programs, women's shelters, mental health services, and housing, which he believes will alleviate the root causes of crime.

She was the program director and supervisor of the Child's Place Family Centre,[209] president of the Sandwich Teen Action Group,[210] and education committee chairwoman of the Windsor chapter of the Canadian Federation of University Women.

"[217] Comartin was described in a profile as someone who is "cool in the spotlight, rarely misspeaks and eschews the backslapping charm expected of many politicians...too decent a guy, to a fault [and] non-plussed with the pomp and politicking of Ottawa.

"[218] Windsor Star journalist Gord Henderson described him as an "intense, ramrod stiff New Democrat, a guy who only cracks a smile at gunpoint and [only] provided it's loaded..."[219] Comartin dislikes Twitter.

When first asked if he would be creating a Twitter profile, Comartin replied that "he couldn't fathom devoting lots of his time telling people trivial things about his life in 140 characters or less."