Ya'ara Saks

Ya'ara Saks (Hebrew: יערה זקס; born March 9, 1973) is a Canadian politician who serves as the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health. She was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in a by-election on October 26, 2020, following the resignation of Michael Levitt, and later re-elected on September 20, 2021. She represents the riding of York Centre as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada.

Early life
A dual citizen of Canada and of Israel, Saks was born in Toronto to an Israeli father and has lived in both Israel (1995 to 2006) and Canada. She attended McGill University for her undergraduate education, and then completed her Master's degree in international relations and diplomacy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Before entering politics, Saks owned a yoga studio in York Centre (in the north end of Toronto) and was the director of Trauma Practice for Healthy Communities, a charity that focuses on mental health.

Views on Israeli politics
Saks has been deeply critical of the direction of the Netanyahu government in Israel for its treatment of its Israeli Arab citizens and the 2018 Nation-State law and has expressed the concern that it is leading Israel to be "deeply racist towards its minorities and ... not to see itself as a light and shelter or future home to asylum seekers fleeing war," as well as its elevation of leadership at the expense of the justice system.

Saks has stated that she is "an unapologetic Zionist who believes passionately in the State of Israel" and that she condemns the BDS Movement (boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel), considering it antisemitic.

Canadian federal politics
Saks won the 2020 York Centre federal by-election as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada.

Upon being sworn in as a member of Canada's House of Commons (along with fellow rookie parliamentarian Marci Ien) it took the number of female MPs in Canada to 100, which, at 30%, is the highest proportion of women in that chamber in its history.

In December 2021 she was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development.

In February 2022, when speaking in the House about confirming the Emergencies Act in response to the "Freedom Convoy" protest, Saks claimed that "honk honk" (a phrase used by convoy supporters in reference to truck horns) was "an acronym for 'heil Hitler'". Saks provided evidence for her claim on Twitter, citing antifascist researcher and organizer Gwen Snyder, who posted a 4chan post that promoted using the claim as a prank similar to the site's previous hoax that the "OK" hand gesture was code for “white power”.

In July 2023 she was appointed Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health.