page_title: Murray Rankin
section_title: First term as Member of Parliament
hierarchical_section_title: Murray Rankin / Political career / First term as Member of Parliament
caption_attribution_description: English: Murray Rankin Speaks at 2013 NDP Convention in Montreal (April 13, 2013)
context_page_description: Murray Rankin QC is Chair of the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency, overseeing all national security and intelligence activities carried out by the Government of Canada. Rankin is a former Canadian politician, university professor and environmental and public law expert. Rankin served as the Member of Parliament for Victoria from 2012 to 2019, with roles including NDP House Leader, Justice and Attorney General Critic, Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, and Member of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians.
context_section_description: On September 9, 2012, Rankin announced his intention to seek the NDP nomination to become the federal Member of Parliament for Victoria following Denise Savoie's retirement. On November 26, 2012, Rankin was elected to Parliament with over 37% of the vote.
  Rankin was first sworn into office on December 11, 2012. NDP Leader Tom Mulcair immediately named Rankin to a senior role in his shadow cabinet as National Revenue Critic. On January 28, 2013 Rankin was appointed to the Standing Committee on Finance, which reviews fiscal and monetary policy.  Mulcair later added responsibility for Pensions to Rankin's critic portfolio.  In 2014 Rankin was elected as Chair of the British Columbia Caucus.  On February 23, 2015 Rankin became Official Opposition Health Critic  and Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Health.  Rankin was recognised as a "rising star", one of the NDP's top recruits, and "one of Parliament's sharpest legal minds".
  In his role as National Revenue Critic, Rankin was an outspoken on the Conservative government's failure to tackle the issue of tax havens and tax evasion, which he argued put an unfair burden on honest Canadians.  Rankin criticized layoffs at the Canada Revenue Agency which investigates tax fraud and supported the efforts of Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page to measure the tax gap.  A CBC and ICIJ investigation later revealed a massive data leak which proved that hundreds of Canadians were exploiting tax havens, including Liberal Senator Pana Merchant.
  Rankin also raised concerns over the federal government's crackdown on charities.  In 2012, the Government ordered special  audits of charities for political activities, and eventually provided $13.4 million for the initiative.  The audits targeted environmental groups who have opposed the government's energy and pipeline policies, fight poverty, provide international aid and promote human rights, as well as a group of birdwatchers which were targeted for political activity.  Rankin said he respected the need for audits to ensure charities comply with the rules, but he noted that many charities are now being tied up in paperwork over the audits, instead of being able to fulfil their charitable mandates and called for public hearings before the finance committee.
  In his role as Health Critic, Rankin was recognised for bringing all parties together for a unanimous vote to compensate survivors of thalidomide poisoning. The victims, whose mothers were prescribed the federally approved drug for insomnia and morning sickness, were born with partial or missing limbs, blindness, deafness and internal organ damage. "I'm trying to do my very best for these people because I find their situation so poignant, so heart-wrenching," Rankin said.  "They have been suffering from their disabilities for their whole lives. The Canadian government told their mothers that thalidomide was safe. That means we have a moral responsibility to provide them with support now."  In May 2015, the Government agreed to provide victims of the drug annual payments of up to $100,000, depending on the severity of their disability, roughly on par with existing compensation levels in Germany and Britain. Taskforce representing Canada's living victims of Thalidomide thanked Rankin for his "tireless championing of our cause".
  
  Rankin has been an outspoken advocate for environmental protection.  Speaking at the 2013 NDP Convention, Rankin told delegates that "the NDP's leadership on the environment has always been a beacon to those of us who have fought to protect our environment and tackle the climate crisis head on."  Weeks after being sworn in as Member of Parliament, Rankin was barred from entering the Harper government's "public hearing" on the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines in his Victoria constituency.   Speaking to press outside the hearing Rankin said, "I wanted to observe on behalf of my constituents... I've never heard of a public hearing that was not open to the public ... It's Kafkaesque." He added, "I'm opposed to the pipeline and I don't mind admitting it."
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caption: Murray Rankin Speaks at 2013 NDP Convention in Montreal (April 13, 2013)
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