1. Rathika Sitsabaiesan was born in Jaffna, Sri Lanka on December 23,1981.
14 Facts About Rathika Sitsabaiesan
1. 2.
Rathika Sitsabaiesan transferred to Carleton University, where she obtained a Bachelor of Commerce degree.
3.
Rathika Sitsabaiesan served as Operations Manager of the Rideau River Residence Association, Vice President of the Carleton University Students' Association, and Caucus Chair of the New University Government.
4.
Rathika Sitsabaiesan worked for the University of Toronto Students' Union and the Ontario Labour Relations Board.
5.
Rathika Sitsabaiesan holds a Master's degree in Industrial Relations at Queen's University.
6.
Rathika Sitsabaiesan is a member of the Board of Directors of the Malvern Community Coalition, a residents' group in Malvern, Toronto.
7.
Rathika Sitsabaiesan worked as a volunteer in Ed Broadbent's campaign for the 2004 federal election.
8.
Rathika Sitsabaiesan has served in various roles in the New Democratic Party, including campaign manager during the 2008 Canadian federal election and acting as an advisor to NDP leader Jack Layton on Tamil issues.
9.
Rathika Sitsabaiesan won the 2011 Canadian federal election after securing 18,935 votes.
10.
Rathika Sitsabaiesan became the first Tamil Canadian to be elected to the House of Commons of Canada, the first female Member of Parliament to represent Scarborough-Rouge River, and only the second Tamil woman to be elected to any federal parliament outside India or Sri Lanka, the first being Singaporean Member of Parliament Indranee Rajah.
11.
Rathika Sitsabaiesan was appointed critic for Post-Secondary Education in the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet in the 41st Canadian Parliament.
12.
Rathika Sitsabaiesan contested the 2015 federal election in Scarborough North but in the nationwide Liberal landslide she trailed in third with 8,648 votes.
13.
Rathika Sitsabaiesan said she would take the initiative to form an All Party Parliamentary Committee to look into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka during the last stages of the war.
14.
In November 2014, Rathika Sitsabaiesan was criticised for comparing Maaveerar Naal, an annual commemoration for dead Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam cadres, with Remembrance Day during a speech in the House of Commons.