Life and times of Mac Harb
1953
Nov. 10: Born in Chaat, Lebanon
1979-82 Works as a product development engineer, Northern Telecom
1982 Graduates from the University of Ottawa with a master’s degree in engineering
1983-85 Works as a teaching master at Algonquin College
1985 Elected as alderman to Dalhousie Ward by fewer than 60 votes over his closest opponent
1987-88 Becomes deputy mayor of Ottawa, a rotating position
1988
July 27: Pulls off a surprise win over women’s rights activist Maude Barlow for the Liberal nomination in the federal riding of Ottawa Centre.
Nov. 21: Defeats the NDP’s Michael Cassidy by fewer than 700 votes after running on a platform of freer trade with the United States while opposing the agreement drawn up by the Mulroney government. He also opposes the Meech Lake Accord, differing from the official Liberal party line.
1993
Re-elected to House of Commons
1993-1995 Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of International Trade
1997, 2000
Re-elected to the House of Commons
2003
Sept. 9: Harb is named to the Senate. Possibly Prime Minister Jean Chrétien’s most vocal fan in the Liberal caucus, he takes credit for delivering eastern Ontario to Chrétien in the party’s 1990 leadership race. Harb is promptly dubbed the “$4.1-million man” by the NDP in recognition of the $114,000 annual income he will receive on his projected retirement at age 75 in 2029. Sits on various standing committees during his term in the Senate.
2009, 2010 Fails in his Senate bids to outlaw the seal hunt.
2012
Dec. 5: The Citizen reports that Harb is claiming $31,237 in additional living expenses for time he spends in his “secondary residence” in the city.
Dec. 26: Named top Canadian of 2012 by PETA for his opposition to the seal hunt.
2013
Feb. 28: The Citizen reports Harb was registered to vote in downtown Ottawa in the last election — not the Pembroke riding where he claims to live — and lists his Ottawa condo as his address in corporate filings and real estate transactions.
March 24: Harb won’t say if he will repay more than $40,000 in living expenses for claiming a secondary residence in Ottawa pending the result of an external audit.
May 9: After he is found by a Senate audit to have wrongly billed taxpayers and is ordered to repay $51,482, Harb resigns from the Liberal caucus and vows to take the upper chamber to court.
May 17: Harb takes out a $55,000 loan against his Ottawa condo.
June 12: Harb is found to owe more than $230,000 in living expenses in a review dating back seven years. This quadruples the original estimate.
June 14: Harb says he will sue over the Senate expense probe, contending he was denied the right to a fair hearing.
June 17: Harb claims living and travel costs had been approved by the Clerk of the Senate in 2003.
June 21: The Citizen reports an RCMP investigation now includes Harb, looking into land records for a Cobden property owned by the senator.
July 25: The RCMP alleges in a court document that Harb claimed a housing allowance on a home that was uninhabitable for three years, and in which he only had a .01 per cent stake for four years.
Aug 9: The Citizen reports Harb has sold his home in Westmeath and has borrowed $230,000 to pay legal bills.
Aug. 26: Harb leaves the Senate.