Toni Skarica

Antonio Peter "Toni" Skarica is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2000 who represented the Hamilton area ridings of Wentworth North and Wentworth—Burlington. In 2012 he was appointed as a judge to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

Toni Skarica
Ontario MPP
In office
1999–2000
Preceded byNew riding
Succeeded byTed McMeekin
ConstituencyWentworth—Burlington
In office
1995–1999
Preceded byDon Abel
Succeeded byRiding abolished
ConstituencyWentworth North
Personal details
BornEngland
Political partyProgressive Conservative
OccupationLawyer

Background

Skarica was born in England. Miroslav, his father was of Bosnian heritage while his mother, Hilda, came from Austria.[1][2] The family moved to Canada when Skarica was five years old.[3] He has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McMaster University, and a law degree from the University of Toronto. He was called to the bar in 1979 and worked in private practice and as a Crown attorney.[3] He is married with two children.[4]

Politics

Skarica was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1995 provincial election, defeating Liberal Chris Ward and New Democratic Party incumbent Don Abel by a significant margin in the suburban Hamilton riding of Wentworth North.[5] He was not appointed to cabinet under Mike Harris, and soon developed a reputation as a maverick within his party. He opposed school board amalgamation and told regional officials to refuse payment of social housing costs being downloaded by the province. He also opposed the Harris government's plans to amalgamate the City of Hamilton with neighbouring municipalities.[1]

Skarica was re-elected in the provincial election of 1999, in the redistributed riding of Wentworth—Burlington.[6] During the election, he promised to resign if he was unable to prevent the amalgamation of Ancaster, Dundas and Flamborough into the City of Hamilton. The Harris government pushed forward with its amalgamation plans at the end of 1999, and Skarica resigned from the legislature on February 7, 2000.[7]

Later life

After leaving office, Skarica went back to work as assistant Crown attorney serving Hamilton, Ontario.[8] On November 1, 2012, he was appointed as a judge to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.[2][3]

References
  1. Mcguinness, Eric (January 22, 2000). "Megacity left Skarica no choice but to resign". The Hamilton Spectator. p. A4.
  2. "Hamilton prosecutor Toni Skarica named a judge". The Hamilton Spectator. October 6, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2014.
  3. Fragomeni, Carmela (October 6, 2012). "Prosecutor Toni Skarica becomes a judge: Assistant Crown successfully toppled notorious human trafficking ring". The Hamilton Spectator. p. A4.
  4. Arnold, Steve (June 3, 1995). "Profile Wentworth North". The Hamilton Spectator. p. B4.
  5. "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. June 8, 1995. Archived from the original on March 22, 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
  6. "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. June 3, 1999. Archived from the original on May 4, 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
  7. "Backbench Tory quits rather than be liar: Toni Skarica resigns over super-city vow". Toronto Star. January 12, 2000. p. A10.
  8. Brown, Barbara (June 6, 2006). "Gardiner at 'high risk' to offend; Crown tells judge it's in his hands to protect women from slasher's escalating crimes". Hamilton Spectator. p. A5.
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