Editing Rob Anders (section)

==Parliamentary career==
Anders was first elected as the [[Reform Party of Canada|Reform Party]] MP for Calgary West in 1997, at age 25. The seat had been vacated when the former MP for the riding, [[Stephen Harper]], resigned in 1996. It was expected that Anders would run in a by-election, but the 1997 election was called earlier than expected.

===Bills introduced===
In March 2003 Anders introduced Bill C-414 as a private members' bill. It was entitled "An Act to amend the Special Economic Measures Act (no foreign aid to countries that do not respect religious freedom)." The purpose of the bill was to stop Canadian government from spending the foreign aid budget in countries that did not allow for religious freedom.

Anders introduced Bill C-570 on January 29, 2014, which would amend the criminal code to provide for mandatory minimum sentences for rape.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/LegisInfo/Result.aspx?SponsorPersonId=1313&Language=e&Mode=1|title=LegisInfo |accessdate=March 14, 2014}}</ref>

===36th Parliament (1997–2000)===
Anders was elected as a member of the [[Reform Party of Canada|Reform Party]] (1997–2000) and converted to the [[Canadian Alliance]] in 2000.

Anders served in several different critic roles in opposition. First as critic of the Senate from June 16, 1998, to 1999 as well as associate critic for Human Resource Development from his first election to July 31, 2000. In August 2000 he was appointed associate critic for Citizenship and Immigration.

Along with fellow newly elected MPs [[Jason Kenney]], [[Monte Solberg]], [[Rahim Jaffer]] and advisor [[Ezra Levant]], Anders was part of an up-and-coming group of young Reformers which pundits dubbed the "Snack Pack" due to their relative youth - all aged under 30; and girth.

===37th Parliament (2001–2004)===
On June 18, 2001, he became associate critic for National Defence, until appointed critic for Civil Preparedness from Jan 22, 2004 until the 2004 election.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Files/Parliamentarian.aspx?Item=9c14772f-bd8b-4bd3-9854-f7cdeefd507a&Language=E&Section=FederalExperience|accessdate=March 14, 2014|title=Rob Anders, B.A.}}</ref>

Over time Anders has served in several leadership roles on parliamentary committees. In the [[37th Canadian Parliament]] he was the vice-chair of the Subcommittee on National Security of the Standing Committee on Justice, Human Rights, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.

Anders was the sole parliamentarian to vote against making [[Nelson Mandela]] an honorary citizen of Canada in 2001, which prevented the act from passing unanimously. He defended his actions by stating that Mandela was a communist and a terrorist, causing widespread criticism.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/pm-blasts-mp-for-blocking-mandela-honour-1.285666 | title=PM blasts MP for blocking Mandela honour| publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]] | date=June 8, 2001}}</ref> As a result, during the next two federal elections, Anders was the target of a mostly unsuccessful non-partisan "Vote Out Rob Anders"<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.voteoutanders.com/index2.shtml | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040603110903/http://www.voteoutanders.com/index2.shtml | url-status=dead | archive-date=2004-06-03 | title=Vote Out Rob Anders! | publisher=voteoutanders.com }}</ref> campaign in his riding, but his popular vote percentage increased in every federal election since he was first elected in the [[1997 Canadian federal election]].

Anders was a supporter of Stephen Harper's successful 2002 bid for the leadership of the [[Canadian Alliance]], providing significant assistance with the campaign's phone-banking.

===38th Parliament (2004–2005)===
In the next parliament Anders became the co-chair of the Scrutiny of Regulations Committee.

In December 2005, Anders used public funds to send pamphlets to residents in [[Richmond, British Columbia]], a constituency far removed from his own. The leaflets caused bewilderment for including a survey question about "homosexual sex marriage" in a flyer otherwise addressing crime and crystal meth abuse.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bennett |first=Nelson |title=Calgary MP wants your thoughts on homosexual sex marriage |url=http://www.richmond-news.com/issues05/122205/news/122205nn3.html |accessdate=16 October 2012 |newspaper=Richmond News |date=December 9, 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070303011838/http://www.richmond-news.com/issues05/122205/news/122205nn3.html |archivedate=March 3, 2007 }}</ref>

===39th Parliament (2006–2008)===
In the [[39th Canadian Parliament]], after the Conservatives came to power, he was elected chair of the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs.

===40th Parliament (2008–2011)===
In the [[40th Canadian Parliament]] he had three different committee leadership jobs: vice-chair of the Government Operations and Estimates Committee, vice-chair of Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates and co-chair of Library of Parliament Committee.

Anders has been a consistent critic of the human rights record of the People's Republic of China. He has described the PRC as "the worst human-rights abuser in the world," and compared the 2008 Beijing Olympics to the 1936 Berlin Olympics. He argued that "China is the wrong choice to host the Games... I absolutely 100% think it compares to the Berlin Olympics in 1936." Anders highlights that the fact that Falun Gong practitioners are not allowed to participate in the Olympics is comparable with Adolf Hitler's issue with Jewish participation in the 1936 Berlin Olympics." Anders has also said that no Canadian politician should attend the games, nor should any Canadian athletes be used as "propaganda tools." His comments were criticized by local Chinese trade association as well as fellow Calgary Tory MP [[Deepak Obhrai]], who disclaimed Anders "was speaking as an individual and his comments are not reflective of government policy."<ref>[https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/story.html?id=452916 Calgary MP compares China to Nazi regime<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

In February 2010, nineteen members of Anders' Calgary West riding association resigned ''en masse'', citing interference from the Conservative Party. The 32 member board had been planning to ask Conservative Party members at the riding's upcoming annual general meeting whether they wanted to hold a nomination contest. The party's national council intervened, saying it had already declared Anders as the candidate for the next federal election, and threatened to take control of the annual general meeting of the constituency association. The resignations brought the total number of board members who had resigned over the course of one year to twenty-four.<ref>{{cite news|title=Members quit Anders' riding association|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/members-quit-anders-riding-association-1.871764|access-date=April 29, 2011|publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]]|date=February 10, 2010}}</ref>

In 2010, in a card supporting Canadian troops, Anders wrote: "When in doubt, pull the trigger".<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/calgary-mp-advises-soldiers-to-pull-trigger-1.871762 | title=Calgary MP advises soldiers to 'pull trigger'| publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]] | date=June 1, 2010}}</ref>

===41st Parliament (2011–2015)===
After the 2011 Canadian election, Anders served as a member of the Veterans Affairs Committee, the Industry, Science and Technology Committee and the Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/Parliamentarians/en/members/Rob-Anders(1313)/Roles|accessdate=March 14, 2014|title=Members of Parliament, Roles}}</ref>

Anders' decision to become involved in the newly formed [[Wildrose Alliance Party]] of Alberta has generated controversy, as the Wildrose Alliance Party had hoped to defeat the ruling [[Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta|Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta]] in the province's [[2012 Alberta general election|2012 election]]. Ron Liepert, Alberta's Minister of Energy, accused Anders of campaigning against him.<ref>{{cite news |last=D'Aliesio |first=Renata |date=October 21, 2009 |title=Wildrose supporters rankle Tories |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/calgary-herald-wildrose-supporters-rankl/144182961/}} and {{cite news |title=Tories: Party not 'listening' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/calgary-herald-tories-party-not-listen/144183041/ |work=[[Calgary Herald]] |location=Calgary, Alberta |pages=A1-A4 |access-date=March 26, 2024 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref>

In March 2012, Anders was removed from the Veterans Affairs Committee following controversial comments in response to arriving late, texting, and falling asleep at a committee meeting (including calling his accusers [[New Democratic Party (Canada)|NDP]] "hacks", and claiming that they praise [[Vladimir Putin]]).<ref>[http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/03/28/rob-anders-veterans-committee/ Drowsy Tory MP Rob Anders dropped from Veterans Affairs Committee]. ''National Post'', March 28, 2012. Retrieved March 28, 2012.</ref><ref>[http://thechronicleherald.ca/canada/78605-anders-removed-veterans-affairs-committee Anders removed from veterans affairs committee]. ''The Chronicle Herald'', March 29, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2012.</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Fitzpatrick|first=Meagan|title=Calgary MP Rob Anders booted off veterans committee|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/calgary-mp-rob-anders-booted-off-veterans-committee-1.1290073}}</ref> He was reassigned to the House–Senate Standing Joint Committee on Scrutiny of Regulations. In 2011 Anders began to lobby for the government to stop funding the CBC.<ref>{{cite news |last=Curry |first=Bill |date=September 23, 2011 |title=CBC funding under microscope in Conservative surveys |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/cbc-funding-under-microscope-in-conservative-surveys/article2178251/ |accessdate=September 27, 2011 |newspaper=The Globe and Mail}}</ref>

In July 2012, Anders opposed his own party and criticized Treasury Board President [[Tony Clement]] for funding a visitors' centre honouring to [[Norman Bethune]], a Canadian physician who died while performing emergency medicine for the [[National Revolutionary Army|Chinese resistance]] against the [[Japanese occupation of China]]. According to Anders, "You don't need taxpayer money to go ahead and memorialize somebody who was a fan of the biggest killer in human history <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Mao Zedong]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>", referring to Bethune's [[communism|communist]] ideals,<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/07/13/rob-anders-tony-clement-norman-bethune_n_1671147.html Rob Anders Joins Criticism Of Tony Clement And Conservatives Over Norman Bethune Centre], by Michael Bolen, at the [[Huffington Post]]; published March 28, 2012; retrieved April 13, 2014</ref> although Bethune had died ten years before Mao took power.

In September and October 2012, fellow Conservative Party members disassociated themselves from Anders' belief that New Democratic Party leader [[Thomas Mulcair]] had "hastened the death" of former NDP leader Jack Layton by encouraging an election while being in questionable health.<ref>[http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/10/01/thomas-mulcair-helped-hasten-jack-laytons-death-tory-mp-rob-anders-says/ "Outspoken Tory MP Rob Anders apologizes for suggesting Thomas Mulcair hastened Jack Layton’s death"]. ''[[National Post]]'', October 1, 2012.</ref>

In October 2012, Anders attracted some controversy by calling Bill C279, a private member's bill that would amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and hate crime section of the Criminal Code to include "gender identity" and "gender expression" as grounds for discrimination, a "bathroom bill".<ref name="CBC News">{{cite web|title=CBC News – MP Rob Anders criticized over 'bathroom bill' comments Transgender community not happy with Calgary politician|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/mp-rob-anders-criticized-over-bathroom-bill-comments-1.1133556|work=CBC News|access-date=October 4, 2012}}</ref>

On December 6, 2013, Anders spoke out after the death of [[Nelson Mandela]], saying "If you are looking for another perspective you may be interested in the obituary that [[David Horowitz]] wrote for the [[David Horowitz Freedom Center|Freedom Center]]".<ref>{{cite web|title=CBC News – Rob Anders still no fan of Nelson Mandela|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/rob-anders-still-no-fan-of-nelson-mandela-1.2454052|work=CBC News|accessdate=December 6, 2013}}</ref>

Prime Minister [[Stephen Harper]] has indicated his support of Anders, stating that "Rob is a true reformer and a true conservative. He has been a faithful supporter of mine and I am grateful for his work."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.intheirownwords.ca/harper.html | title=Stephen Harper: Quotations by and about Canada's Conservatives | publisher=In Their Own Words}}</ref>