- Andrew Witer
Andrew Witer (born
November 23 ,1946 ) is a Canadian politician. He served in theCanadian House of Commons from 1984 to 1988, as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party.Witer was born to a Ukrainian family in Leonberg,
Germany . He came to Canada in his youth, and was educated atSir Wilfrid Laurier University . He worked as a management consultant.He first campaigned for the House of Commons in the 1980 federal election, and lost to Liberal incumbent
Jesse Flis by 5,097 votes inParkdale—High Park . He ran again in the 1984 election, and defeated Flis by 1,460 votes amid a landslidemajority government victory for the Conservatives underBrian Mulroney .Witer was on the right-wing of the Progressive Conservative Party, and was part of a group in the party caucus informally known as the "brat pack" ("Toronto Star", 17 January 1987). In 1987, Witer and
Alex Kindy used a procedural mechanism to prevent the quick passage of a bill to establish a permanent war criminal investigative agency in Canada. Many supported such an agency as a means of prosecuting Nazi war criminals in Canada. Witer was quoted as saying, "Canada doesn't need a witch-hunting brigade like the Americans have, because it would only cause anger and panic in East European communities" ("Houston Chronicle", 8 February 1987).He was defeated in the 1988 election, falling to Flis by 3,196 votes. Witer was appointed to the board of the Metro Toronto Housing Authority in 1989 ("Globe and Mail", 28 April 1989).
Witer was named "Person of the Year" by the Canadian Ukrainian Congress in 1988, and chaired the World Congress of Ukrainians Human Rights Commission from 1989 to 1991. He joined the Romyr and Associates Public Relations Firm in 1993, and became its president in 2001 ("Eastern Economist Daily", 26 July 2001). In this capacity, he has done extensive work in
Ukraine . [http://www.romyr.com/index.php3/75/decadeofPR_media/?submit=print]Witer campaigned for the Metropolitan Toronto Council in 1994, and lost to future
mayor David Miller in the city's 19th ward.External links
*
s-ttl|title=
Member of Parliament fromParkdale—High Park
years=1984 –1988
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.