Thomas William Wappel (born February 9, 1950) is a Canadian retired politician. He was a Liberal member of the House of Commons from 1988 to 2008, representing the Toronto riding of Scarborough West and its successor riding of Scarborough Southwest. He did not seek re-election in the 2008 general election.
Wappel is a staunch social conservative. He is a prominent opponent of abortion and gay rights, and has made controversial comments on immigration and the role of religion in government. He opposes the death penalty and describes himself as holding liberal views on economic issues.Tom Wappel, "Being a Christian in politics" , Theological Digest & Outlook, March 2000. In 1998, he was awarded the Joseph P. Borowski Award, presented to a pro-life Canadian politician."MP Tom Wappel to announce his retirement today" [press release], Canada NewsWire, 23 March 2007, 12:35. He is separated, with five children.
Early life and career Wappel was born in Toronto, to Hungarian parents. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto (1971), and a Bachelor of Laws from Queen's University (1974). He was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1976 and worked in civil litigation and corporate law. Wappel has been a member of the Knights of Columbus.Tom Wappel, official curriculum vitae .
1988 election
Wappel won the Scarborough West Liberal nomination in 1988 in a surprising upset over Patrick Johnston, a star candidate who had been personally recruited by party leader John Turner.Stevie Cameron, "An avalanche of bad news leaves pre-election Liberals gloomy", Globe and Mail, 15 September 1988, A2. His campaign was supported by members of the anti-abortion group Campaign Life, and his election platform included a pledge of "respect for human life, from conception to the natural end of life"."Scarborough West Swing riding could be 3-way fight", Toronto Star, 16 November 1988, A14. Wappel thanked the Campaign Life Coalition and "all [his] fellow Knights of Columbus" in his nomination acceptance speech. See Dan Smith, "Turner's prize recruit loses nomination bid", Toronto Star, 10 September 1988, A3. He also opposed the Canada-United States free trade agreement, and criticized the media for portraying him as a single-issue candidate.Deborah Wilson, "Liberal is trying to shake anti-abortion label", Globe and Mail, 19 November 1988, A16. He won a narrow victory in the general election, defeating Progressive Conservative incumbent Reginald Stackhouse by 440 votes.
During the election, Campaign Life activists circulated a pamphlet that accused Stackhouse of supporting "baby-killing" in some circumstances."Metro's 15 new faces in Parliament", Toronto Star, 27 November 1988, A8. The original newspaper notice indicated that Stackhouse was described as a "babykiller", but this was later corrected (see Lorne Manly, "Pledging a return", listed below).
The Progressive Conservatives won a majority government in 1988, and Wappel entered Parliament as a member of the opposition. John Turner resigned as party leader in 1989, and a new leadership contest was called to select his replacement.
Leadership candidate
Wappel was the first declared candidate in the Liberal Party's 1990 leadership convention, announcing his candidacy on June 29, 1989. He described himself as the only candidate willing to make abortion a leadership issue.Susan Delacourt, "Anti-abortion MP is first to seek Liberal leadership", Globe and Mail, 30 June 1989, A5. Rival candidate John Nunziata later endorsed an anti-abortion position as well. Wappel spoke against abortion in all circumstances, saying that while rape and incest are terrible tragedies, "they cannot possibly be compounded by the further tragedy of destroying human life."Lorne Manly, "Wappel runs for leadership", Toronto Star, 4 July 1989, E1. He also called for increased immigration to Canada and harsher penalties against drug traffickers, while opposing the Meech Lake Accord and "distinct society" status for Quebec.Lorne Manly, "Pledging a return to family values, Scarborough West MP Tom Wappel has entered the race for the federal Liberal leadership", Toronto Star, 30 June 1989, A12.
Wappel spoke against federal daycare programs during one all-candidates meeting, arguing that the Canadian government should promote stay-at-home parenting instead.Carol Goar, "Copps steals show from Chrétien", Toronto Star, 29 January 1990, A11. Late in the campaign, he said that he did not consider single-parent households or same-sex couples to be families."Candidates differ on family issues", Toronto Star, 22 April 1990, A18.
His candidacy was not supported by any other MPs although he won the endorsement of Liberals for Life, an anti-abortion pressure group working inside the Liberal Party, in March 1990."Pro-life group supports Wappel", Toronto Star, 10 March 1990, A8. During his nomination speech at the convention, Wappel called for abortion to be made a criminal offence with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.William Walker, "The Liberal tradition in politics should include protecting unborn children from abortion, leadership candidate Tom Wappel said in his major convention speech", Toronto Star, 23 June 1990, A14. Walker's original report incorrectly asserted that Wappel supported the death penalty for women who have abortions and doctors who perform them. This was corrected the next day. Wappel opposes capital punishment. He finished in fourth place, as Jean Chrétien won the leadership on the first ballot.
Opposition Critic Wappel was appointed as the Liberal Party's immigration critic in January 1991. Late in the year, he prepared an internal party document calling for the creation of detainment camps (to be called Welcome Centres) for refugees arriving in Canada. Claimants would be provided with food, lodging and clothing, but would not be permitted to work outside the centre while their cases were under review. The proposal also called for any claimant with HIV to be automatically denied status. His suggestions were leaked to the media and were immediately rejected by the Liberal Party leadership.Paul Watson, "Liberal MP proposes special camps for refugees". Toronto Star, 15 November 1991, A2; Toronto Star Editorial, 13 January 1992, A12. He was removed as the Liberal Party's immigration Critic in January 1992 and reassigned as critic for the Solicitor-General."Marchi, Tobin take on Liberal campaign role", Toronto Star, 16 January 1992, A12. In his new position, he called for increased safeguards in Canada's parole system.Kellie Hudson, "Mom outraged sex offender to be released from prison", Toronto Star, 1 November 1992, A4.
Wappel was endorsed by the Canadian Police Association in the 1993 federal election, and focused his campaign on "law and order" issues.Deborah Kyvrikosaios, "Police to back campaigns of 'law and order' politicians", Globe and Mail, 19 July 1993, A2; "Scarborough West", Toronto Star, 22 October 1993, A9. He was easily re-elected as the Liberals won a majority government nationally.
Government backbencher
Chrétien government
Wappel was not appointed to Jean Chrétien's cabinet and was a frequent critic of his own party's social legislation. He opposed the Chrétien government's decision to extend anti-discrimination protection to homosexuals in 1994, describing homosexuality as "statistically abnormal, [...] physically abnormal and [...] morally immoral".Tu Thanh Ha, "Dissident Liberals fight bills on gays", Globe and Mail, 28 September 1994, A1. Some politicians and journalists called for Chrétien to expel Wappel from caucus after this remark, but no disciplinary action was taken.See for instance, William Neville, "A poor response from Chrétien", Winnipeg Free Press, 6 October 1994, Editorial Page. Later in the year, Wappel described homosexuality as "not genetic, but a choice", while arguing that religion is "virtually genetic, since it is passed from generation to generation"."A God gene? Gosh", Globe and Mail, 18 November 1994, A24. He remained active on law enforcement issues, introducing a private member's bill to create a national witness protection program and calling for tougher provisions under Canada's Young Offenders Act.Rudy Platiel, "Witness protection", Globe and Mail, 21 April 1994, A6; David Vienneau, "New bill to double teen killers' terms", Toronto Star, 2 June 1994, A16.
He was re-elected to a third term in the 1997 election, again running on a "law and order" platform. When parliament resumed, he introduced a private member's bill designed to prevent persons convicted of serious crimes (and their relatives and collaborators) from receiving any financial benefit resulting from artistic depictions of their acts. The bill was supported by some members of the law enforcement community, but was criticized by artists and was often described as poorly drafted. Toronto journalist Michael Valpy dismissed it as "legal gibberish" and "a piece of junk".Michael Valpy, "Dump the Son of Sam bill", Globe and Mail, 28 November 1997, A21. The bill passed the House of Commons but was rejected by the Senate of Canada in 1998, despite last-minute adjustments.Janice Tibbetts, "Senate sinks profit-from-crime bill", Winnipeg Free Press, 11 June 1998, B1.
Wappel ran for Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada in 2001, seeking support from backbench Liberals and opposition members. He was eliminated after the first ballot of a secret vote by all members of Parliament (MPs).Fred Chartrand, "New Speaker Milliken fulfills dream", Toronto Star, 30 January 1999, p. 1.
He faced media scrutiny in May 2001, when he refused to help a blind, elderly veteran in his riding whom he suspected of having voted for a rival candidate in the previous election. Wappel wrote a letter to the constituent, asking "How is it that you are writing me for my help if you did not think enough of my abilities to justify voting for me?"Robert Fife and Joseph Brean, "Chrétien tells MP to help veteran following snub", National Post, 10 May 2001, A06. The letter was released to the media, and Wappel's remarks were widely condemned by journalistsRex Murphy, "Tom Wappel," CBC, May 10, 2001 and MPs from all parties. Chrétien reprimanded Wappel and required him to issue an apology."Canadian PM raps own MP for snubbing war veteran", Reuters News, 9 May 2001, 15:43 report. Wappel later described the letter as a "stupid mistake", and called for voters to forgive him.Catherine Dunphy, "Liberals' Wappel hoping voters have forgiven him", Toronto Star, 14 June 2004, B02.
In July 2002, Wappel joined with fifteen other Liberal MPs in calling for Paul Martin to succeed Jean Chrétien as Liberal leader.Anne Dawson, "16 Liberal MPs willing to declare PM should resign", National Post, 25 July 2002, A01; James Travers, "Dummies fall silent as political season changes", Toronto Star, 5 September 2002, A23. Later in the year, he was unexpectedly elected chair of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans in a free vote of other committee members.Kelly Toughill, "Unusual committee casting --- Plum job for backbencher", Toronto Star, 16 November 2002, H05 He issued a report in June 2003 arguing that federal bureaucrats had "badly managed" the sockeye salmon fishery in British Columbia's Fraser River two years earlier."Commons committee says Ottawa mismanaged Fraser River salmon fishery", Associated Press Newswires, 12 June 2003, 11:48 report.
Martin government
Paul Martin succeeded Chrétien as party leader and prime minister in December 2003. Wappel remained a government backbencher, and was returned to a fifth parliamentary term in the 2004 election as the Liberals were reduced to a minority government.