Yasmin Ratansi

Yasmin Ratansi (born January 4, 1951) is a former Canadian politician who represented the Toronto-area riding of Don Valley East in the House of Commons from 2004 to 2011 and again from 2015 to 2021.

Ratansi left the Liberal Party on November 9, 2020, following a CBC News investigation that revealed she had violated parliamentary rules by using public funds to employ her sister in her constituency office.

In 2009, Ratansi was bestowed with the John Leslie Award by CGA Canada, given in recognition of CGAs "who have achieved a high and favourable profile in the Canadian community.

In 1998, she served as one of three co-chairs on the campaign to elect Mel Lastman as mayor of the newly amalgamated city of Toronto.

On November 9, 2020, 30 hours after being presented with the findings of the investigation, Ratansi announced on Facebook that she was leaving the Liberal Party and would continue to sit as an Independent while "awaiting guidance" from the Ethics Commissioner.

"[7] Liberal Party leader and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned her actions as "deeply [disappointing]" and "unacceptable" while committing to an investigation by parliamentary administration officials.

[9] At the time, the Ethics Commissioner was still investigating her for allegedly employing her sister, verbally harassing staffers, and uttering racist remarks about certain minorities.