| Goldie Ghamari | |
| Honorific-Suffix: | MPP |
| Parliament1: | Ontario Provincial |
| Term Start1: | June 7, 2018 |
| Predecessor1: | Riding re-established |
| Riding1: | Carleton |
| Party: | Independent (since 2024) |
| Otherparty: | Progressive Conservative (until 2024) |
| Birth Name: | Golsa Ghamari |
| Birth Place: | Ahwaz, Khuzestan Province, Iran |
| Residence: | Barrhaven,[1] Ottawa, Ontario |
| Occupation: | Politician |
| Alma Mater: | University of Toronto University of Ottawa |
Golsa "Goldie" Ghamari (Persian: گلسا قمری) is a Canadian politician who has represented the riding of Carleton in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 2018. Before entering politics, Ghamari was a lawyer who specialized in international trade law.
On June 28, 2024, Ghamari was removed from the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario caucus by Doug Ford, party leader and premier, after she met with the British far-right figure Tommy Robinson.[2] [3] In a statement, Ford's office said the premier was "extremely disappointed" that Ghamari had given Robinson a platform and that her denials surrounding the incident "speaks volumes about her judgment and honesty."[4]
Ghamari came to Canada at age one, after a failed assassination attempt against her father in their native Iran.[5] Her family sought to escape oppression in the Islamist regime in Iran following the revolution in 1979.
She holds a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Toronto and a juris doctor from the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Common Law.[6] Ghamari was called to the bar of Ontario in 2013 and practiced international trade law before running for provincial office.[7]
Ghamari received her law license in 2013 but had eight "administrative" suspensions between June 2017 and July 2019 for issues such as failure to pay annual fees or file annual reports.[8]
In January 2019, one of Ghamari's former clients pursued an investigation with the LSO for failing to take action on his complaint, which caused him to lose an investment in his restaurant business. Ghamari informed the Law Society of Ontario that she cut off communication with her client based on unsubstantiated rumors that he had ties in the past to a group designated by the federal government as a terrorist organization — an allegation not confirmed anywhere in the tribunal's ruling.
In its March 30 decision, the tribunal ruled that Ghamari, who had since become the Progressive Conservative MPP for Carleton, had "failed to co-operate" with an investigation. Ghamari shared with the tribunal that she was undergoing mental health challenges as a result of an unexpected divorce from her husband and stated that was a contributing factor to her delays. Ghamari had concerns about its impact on her political career and was willing to share the details the Law Society sought in an in-camera meeting.[9]
In April 2021, The Ottawa Citizen reported that a tribunal conducted by the Law Society of Ontario had finalized their ruling to suspend Ghamari's licence to practice law suggesting Ghamari had “engaged in professional misconduct and/or conduct unbecoming a licensee.”.[10] Allegations, according to the Law Society's draft order and sworn affidavits, cited that a former client had filed a complaint alleging that he had paid her a retainer in 2017 to help him pursue a real estate-related claim.[11] The client argued she didn't fulfill the terms of the retainer.
Ghamari was further accused of "utterly stonewalling" the investigation over the past two years as the tribunal repeatedly attempted to collect relevant information, including Ghamari's call and text logs with the client covering the six-month period in question. While Ghamari stated "I'm aware that the Law Society Act requires me to disclose relevant information", she argued, "I do believe that the Law Society should not have blanket authorization access to my political and campaign calls and records, especially because they contain highly sensitive personal information of other political people based on the nature of my position as an elected official."
Ghamari maintained her refusal to provide the information citing a PC Party Confidentiality Pact[12] despite there being no evidence presented prior to nor during the hearing by Ghamari or her duty counsel to suggest the PC Party's confidentiality agreement would override a lawyer's obligation to disclose the requested information under the Law Society Act.
In February 2018, Ghamari alleged that Randy Hillier, MPP for Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington, intimidated her and tried to encourage her not to seek public office. She said the encounter occurred during the 2016 Ontario PC Party convention in Ottawa. As a result of the allegations, there was an internal party investigation, but the party found no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Hillier.[13]
Ghamari was first elected to represent the riding of Carleton in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario during the 2018 general election as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario.[14] She was re-elected in 2022 election.[15]
Ghamari has stated that it was unacceptable that students in the suburban areas of Ottawa lacked access to adequate school bus services.[16] Furthermore, she has advocated for laws to ensure that children are required to wear lifejackets while in lakes or boating activities.[17]
Ontario premier Doug Ford issued a statement on June 28, 2024, that Ghamari had been removed from the Progressive Conservative caucus, citing "repeated serious lapses in judgement".[18] Ghamari had recently had a virtual meeting with Tommy Robinson, the founder and former leader of the far-right English Defence League, ostensibly to discuss the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Robinson has a history of convictions on a number of offences in the United Kingdom and, just days before the meeting with Ghamari, had been arrested in Calgary for misrepresenting himself to immigration officials while entering Canada for a speaking tour sponsored by far-right media outlet Rebel News.[19]
After Ghamari posted on social media about their meeting, the National Council of Canadian Muslims urged the Ford Government to remove Ghamari from their caucus, reminding them of Robinson's known ties to Islamophobia.
Ford's office initially said in a written statement that the premier was "extremely disappointed" in Ghamari's decision to give a platform to someone whose behavior and beliefs are at odds with those of the government.
Ghamari wrote in a subsequent statement that she condemns all forms of Islamophobia and antisemitism, and that she was not aware of Robinson's history prior to their meeting.
Ford's office says he decided to remove her from caucus after that follow-up statement, with a spokesperson for the premier saying it "speaks volumes about her judgment and honesty."
See also: Climate change denial. In 2018, Ghamari stated at a debate in Ontario that while climate change is real, it is not human-caused. "I believe climate change is real. I don't believe climate change is man-made and I certainly don't believe that the people of Carleton are at fault for climate change," Ghamari stated. These comments contradict the scientific consensus on climate change.[20]
In November 2023, Ghamari came under controversy after the Canadian Muslim Public Affairs Council (CMPAC) and the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) alerted the Ontario cabinet about her problematic social media postings. Ghamari wrote on twitter that the Muslim prayer "Allahu Akbar" was a safety concern. She also said that hijab was a "symbol of the subjugation of women". NCCM called her comments Islamophobic and asked Doug Ford to remove her from caucus, however, Doug Ford refused.
In November 2023, Ghamari also accused Ontario New Democratic Party MPP Joel Harden of being "a mouthpiece for the ... Islamic Regime, as well as accusing MPP Sarah Jama of being a "terrorist sympathizer".[21]
Ghamari is a prominent critic of the Islamic Republic of Iran.[22] She is also a supporter of Reza Pahlavi, the last Crown Prince of Iran, and is publicly critical against anyone who she believes support People's Mojahedin Organization (MEK).[23] Ghamari alleged on X that fellow Iran critic Kaveh Shahrooz is a supporter of MEK. Shahrooz, who briefly ran for the federal Conservative Party nomination in Richmond Hill, denied ever supporting MEK.