Parliamentary Assistants to the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services

Yasir Naqvi - Community Safety

Yasir Naqvi was elected to the Ontario legislature in 2007.

Before joining government, Naqvi was associate director at the Centre for Trade Policy and Law at Carleton University, a part-time law professor at the University of Ottawa, and a lawyer. Naqvi sat on the board of directors of the Centretown Community Health Centre for four years and he has been the co-chair of the Capital Food Bank Blitz since 2005.

Naqvi is a first-generation Canadian whose family immigrated to Canada from Pakistan in 1988.

Dave Levac - Correctional Services

Dave Levac was elected to the Ontario legislature in 1999 and was re-elected in 2003 and 2007. Levac has served as Chief Government Whip and Chair of the Education Committee. In 2005, he introduced Bill 3, or “Sabrina’s Law,” in the legislature to help keep children with deadly allergies safe at school. In Opposition, he served as the public safety and security critic and as the south central Liberal caucus chair.

In 1997, readers of the Brantford Expositor named him Citizen of the Year. His volunteer efforts that year included serving as coordinator for the Queen’s visit to Brantford, chairperson and founder of Brantford’s Walk of Fame, vice-chair of the United Way Campaign and founder and vice-chair of the Walter Gretzky CNIB Celebrity Golf Tournament.

In 1998, Levac founded and chaired the Friends of the Firefighters Committee, which raised over $160,000 for the purchase of thermal imaging cameras for the Brantford Fire Department. Levac received the Canada 125 Medal in 1993, an Ontario Service Award in 1998 and the Queen’s Jubilee Award in 2002.

He has been involved in the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Knights of Columbus, the Catholic Youth Organization, Bids for Kids, Circle of Friends, Parkinson’s Association and Riverfest. He is also a committee member of the Thank-A-Vet Luncheon.

Levac taught elementary and secondary school for 12 years and became a principal in 1989. As principal, Levac developed Peace Park and conflict resolution programs. In 1994, the Brant Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association honoured him with the Distinguished Teacher Award.

Levac is a lifelong resident of Brant, where he lives with his wife, Rosemarie, and their three children.