Sarah Jama
Sarah Jama  (born ) is a Canadian politician and disability rights activist who has served as the member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Hamilton Centre since March 2023. Originally elected as a member of the Ontario New Democratic Party, Jama was expelled from the NDP caucus on 23 October 2023, for not abiding by the terms of an agreement with party leader Marit Stiles by taking a "number of unilateral actions", including statements regarding the 2023 Israel-Hamas war and threatening Premier Doug Ford with legal action without first consulting with her caucus. She remains in the legislature as an independent MPP. Prior to her election to the Legislative Assembly, she was the executive director and co-founder of Disability Justice Network Ontario. She has a strong voter base in her riding (Hamilton Center) and is known for community engagement, political leadership, and her ability to achieve success on difficult community issues. Background
Jama was born with cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair for mobility. After graduating from McMaster University with a social science degree, Jama settled in Hamilton, Ontario. She is of Somali descent. Activism
In 2016, Jama was named one of Hamilton's "most interesting people" by the CBC, for her work in organizing an "Anti-Racism Action Initiative" and her disability justice activism. Jama co-founded the Disability Justice Network Ontario in September 2018. She had previously served as Ontario director for the National Educational Association of Disabled Students, and had written on disability justice issues for the magazine of the Young Communist League of Canada, Rebel Youth. In February 2021, she appeared before the Senate of Canada's legal and constitutional affairs committee to argue against the proposed Bill C-7, which she said made euthanasia more accessible for people with mental health disabilities, rather than providing mental health supports. In early 2021, she cofounded the Hamilton Encampment Support Network, focusing on affordable housing access. That same year, Jama received media attention when she was arrested in Hamilton while at a protest against homeless encampment evictions in the city. She was accused of obstructing and assault of a police officer. Charges were later withdrawn after she entered into a peace bond. Politics
In July 2022, Jama announced that she would seek the NDP nomination in the Hamilton Centre by-election, after former MPP and NDP leader Andrea Horwath resigned to run for mayor. Jama was acclaimed as the NDP candidate in October 2022. Jama's campaign garnered controversy after her statements describing Israel as an apartheid state resurfaced, leading to a request by B'nai Brith Canada for the NDP to drop her as a candidate. She later apologized for her statements. On 16 March 2023, Jama was elected as the MPP for Hamilton Centre, garnering 54.28 percent of the vote. On 10 October 2023, three days after the mass killing of Israeli civilians by Hamas which sparked the Israel–Hamas war, Jama generated controversy for a statement referring to "apartheid" and describing "continued violation of human rights in Gaza" by Israel without specifically mentioning the massacre of Israeli civilians. She also called for the "end [of] all occupation of Palestinian land and end [of] apartheid" and offered her sympathies to people mourning on both sides. Her statement was criticized by Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles, and prompted Ontario Liberal leader John Fraser, Premier Doug Ford, and Jewish organizations like Holocaust education group Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs to call for her resignation from caucus. Ford also publicly stated that Jama had a "long and well-documented history of antisemitism" and "hateful views", and that she "publicly support[ed] the rape and murder of innocent Jewish people." In response to Ford's statement, Jama served Ford's office a cease and desist letter and threatened to sue him for libel. Although Jama released her statements under NDP letterhead, the party was not made aware of the pending statement and had not endorsed Jama's positions. Stiles privately met with Jama asking her to remove the statement and apologize; Jama subsequently apologized for the posts in a reply to them on Twitter but refused to remove the statements in defiance of party direction. On 23 October 2023, the legislature voted to censure Jama in response to her comments, with all present NDP members voting against the censure. Shortly thereafter, in light of Jama's actions over the preceding days, it was announced that Jama was being removed from the NDP caucus. In an official party statement, Stiles noted that Jama had been uncooperative with NDP colleagues, making unilateral decisions without party endorsement and endangering the work environment of NDP staff, and had broken the terms of an agreement made between Stiles and Jama which would have kept her affiliated with the party following Jama's statements on the Israel–Hamas war. Officials told CTV News Toronto that staff worked with Jama on a statement, but it differed from what she said publically in the moments preceding her explusion. She also had not informed the party about her intentions to threaten the Premier with Legal Action. Stiles and the NDP caucus were also caught off-guard by her appearance to debate the censure motion. Electoral record

2023 Hamilton Centre provincial by-election

References

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Ontario New Democratic Party MPPs
21st-century Canadian politicians
21st-century Canadian women politicians
Living people
Women MPPs in Ontario
Canadian disability rights activists
1990s births
Activists from Toronto
Black Canadian politicians
Canadian politicians with disabilities
Black Canadian women
People with cerebral palsy
McMaster University alumni
Politicians from Hamilton, Ontario
Politicians from Toronto
Canadian people of Somali descent
Wheelchair users
Canadian activists with disabilities
Independent MPPs in Ontario