Robert Phillip Kaplan

Robert Phillip Kaplan

Robert Phillip Kaplan, politician, lawyer (born at Toronto 27 Dec 1936; died there 5 Nov 2012). Kaplan received a BA in sociology (1958) and an LLB (1961) from the University of Toronto, and was called to the Ontario Bar in 1963. He specialized in corporate and tax law during stints with two Toronto legal firms, and between 1972 and 1974 he lectured on Canadian affairs for the Hudson Institute in Croton-on-Hudson, NY.

Kaplan began his political career in the late 1960s. Elected Liberal MP for Don Valley (Toronto) in 1968, he lost the seat in the 1972 general election. Kaplan switched ridings and was elected in York Centre (Toronto) in the 1974, 1979, 1980, 1984 and 1988 elections. He became solicitor general in 1980, ushered in the Young Offenders Act (1982), and removed national security responsibilities from the RCMP by creating the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. Kaplan was Liberal justice critic from 1984 to 1990, when he was moved to the critic's post of energy, mines and resources. He also oversaw the extradition of Helmut Rauca back to Germany to answer for war crimes committed in the Second World War. Kaplan chose not to seek re-election in 1993 to return to private life.

Following retirement Kaplan assumed the position as Honorary Consul for Canada in Kazakhstan, and was subsequently awarded the Order of Kazakhstan for his efforts in the country. In 2004 he was appointed to the board of directors for European Goldfields, a Canadian company involved in resources exploration in the Slavic region.