Marwan Tabbara steps down from Liberal caucus
Kitchener South-Hespeler MP facing criminal charges
Kitchener South-Hespeler Liberal MP Marwan Tabbara faces charges of assault, break and enter and criminal harassment.
In a statement Friday afternoon, Tabbara said he was stepping down from the Liberal caucus.
Tabbara said he continues to receive counselling and treatment for anxiety and depression which he says he has been living with for some time.
Tabbara said he “deplores violence in all its forms.”
“Other than to state equivocally that every incident of vio
lence is unacceptable and inexcusable, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further while this matter is before the court,” he said.
The Prime Minister’s Office says it learned Friday morning about multiple criminal charges laid against Tabbara and is “looking into the matter.”
They are two counts of assault, one count of break and enter and commit an indictable offence and one count of criminal harassment.
Const. Brian Murphy of Guelph Police confirmed the four charges against Tabbara on Friday.
The charges are connected to an incident on April 10 in Guelph. He is expected to appear in court on June 19.
Tabbara is the first and only MP elected in the riding that was created in 2015. Before politics Tabbara worked in temp jobs, in construction and electrical and roofing jobs. He was a line supervisor at the Frito-Lay snack plant in Cambridge.
In an interview with The Record after he was first elected almost five years ago, Tabbara said his work experience would make him a better MP.
“I know how it feels to be making minimum wage, working hard jobs that are repetitive, jobs that hurt your back,” he said. “I know that it’s getting hard for people to make ends meet. I want them to know I was there, too, and I feel for them.”
Tabbara is the youngest of three brothers. His mother and siblings fled Beirut, Lebanon, during the civil war.
He was four when he came to Canada.
Tabbara, who has a degree in political science from the University of Guelph, threw his name into the nomination to run as a candidate in Kitchener South-Hespeler while studying for law school entrance exams.
Tabbara said he wanted to do something that would make a difference.
He credited his win to the many people he met on the campaign trail.
“I’m anxious because I’m still thinking of the people that I met in my old workplace, in going door to door. Some of them are struggling, and they have issues. I want to be a person who can solve these issues,” he said. “I’m excited to get to work.”