Editing Rob Anders (section)

===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.