Darouze immigrated from Lebanon in 1990, settling in the community of Greely, Ontario in Osgoode Township, which would be amalgamated into Ottawa in 2001.
Darouze graduated from the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts with a degree in Telecommunications. After moving to Canada, he worked in a number of odd-jobs such as busboy, baker, dishwasher and fast food employee before purchasing a pizzeria. Later, he became a sales representative for a Bell Mobility dealer, which led him to work in a number of managerial positions for various telecommunications companies.[1] He speaks English, French and Arabic. He is the former president of the Ottawa-Carleton Snowmobile Trail Club.[2]
Darouze has supported Conservative Member of Parliament Pierre Poilievre, as well as the previous councillor for Osgoode Ward, Doug Thompson.[3]
Darouze, along with Laura Dudas and Matthew Luloff was appointed as a deputy mayor of the city in December 2018.[4]
In 2020, Darouze was caught texting while driving while livestreaming as part of a virtual meeting of the city's audit committee. Darouze indicated he had done so "inadvertently." He has since apologized.[5]
In 2022, Darouze won re-election as the representative for Osgoode Ward 20. He won the election by a margin of approximately 200 votes, securing a third term on Ottawa's city council.[6]
Darouze has spoken out against the Vacant Unit Tax in Ottawa on multiple occasions, including trying to repeal the Vacant Unit Tax in August 2023[10], and proposing changes that exempted certain rural properties, as well as providing opportunities for additional case-specific exemptions.[11]
Darouze has pushed for further enhancements to the rural economy in Ottawa, moving a motion to include the rural and agricultural sector within the strategic priorities of the City's Economic Development Strategy and Action Plan.[12]
Darouze spoke out against a lowering of the curbside waste collection limit in 2023, acknowledging concerns from rural residents with respect to the potential for an increase in illegal dumping.[13]
Darouze spoke out[14] and voted against deferral of works related to the widening of the Airport Parkway[15], citing the fact that this highway is one of the first impressions that visitors to the City of Ottawa will have upon arrival at the Ottawa Airport in the City's south end.
Darouze provided a direction to City staff in October 2024 to conduct a fulsome review of rural villages in 2025 and provide recommendations for growth opportunities in smaller and mid-size villages, in order to prevent stagnation of housing development and services.[16]
Committees
As of February 2023, Darouze sits on the following Committees and Boards of Directors:
Darouze has volunteered with the Greely Winter Carnival, the Osgoode Village and Metcalfe Santa Claus Parades, the Vernon Arts and Crafts Show, and the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation.[23]
According to CBC News, Darouze "tried to silence a woman who criticized him on social media during last fall's [2018] municipal election by writing to her husband's boss, the chief of police, according to a scathing report from the city's integrity commissioner."[25]
The commissioner stated that "on a balance of probabilities, I find that the major motivation of the councillor was to bully and intimidate the complainants and each of them in the hope that female complainant might cease her critical Facebook commentary of him." The commissioner further wrote that it was written "for the primary reason of silencing the female complainant and causing the male complainant grief in his workplace."[25]
Darouze was criticized online over the matter.[27][28]
The matter is settled (as of August 2022), the complainant and her husband had filed a lawsuit against Darouze for alleged damages, but eventually dropped the lawsuit. Following the commissioner's report, Darouze had emailed the couple that he was "truly sorry" that they "perceived" his actions as harassment.[29]
On February 24, 2021 (Anti-Bullying Day), Darouze posted on his Facebook page "let's all be mindful to stand up against bullying today and everyday, all year!"[30]
Political positions (2014-2022)
From the news
On August 31, 2016, Darouze argued against banning hookah waterpipe smoking indoors, saying: "I'm tired of being the nanny state and the government telling us how to do our business. I find in our city, we go from one extreme to another."[31]
On May 18, 2017, A motion to delay construction on Saturday morning by two hours failed at Thursday's community and protective services committee. Darouze was among four councillors opposing the motion, part of a larger noise by-law review.[32]
On March 20, 2018, CBC News published an analysis of the preceding three years of hospitality spending by councillors. The analysis found a four-way tie among councillors who expensed business lunches. Darouze was among the four who expensed 60 lunches during the council term. After Tim Tierney and Rick Chiarelli, Darouze was third in overall spending.[33][34][35]
Following a Byward market shooting in January 2019 by a man known to police, Darouze indicated he would not support a handgun ban, stating: "You can ban guns all you want. They just go to the States and buy them at corner store and smuggle them here. We need to have tougher laws so if the criminal puts his hand on a gun and he gets caught, he goes to jail for a long, long time."[36]
In December 2019, Darouze was among three of four councillors voting in the rural and agricultural affairs committee to approve a warehouse in North Gower. The meeting had been attended by about 30 local residents opposed to the warehouse.[37]
On May 27, 2020, council voted on a motion from Mathieu Fleury to expand a program that provides people addicted to opioids with a safe supply of drugs. Fleury indicated the measure could increases in petty crime since the arrival of the pandemic. George Darouze was among three councillors voting against.[38]
On September 22, 2021, council voted on a motion from Jeff Leiper to allow his Confederation Line (LRT) motion to be discussed, which would see city council hold bi-weekly meetings to address recent issues such as derailments. The motion was defeated. Darouze was among seven council members who dismissed the motion.[39]
Electoral history
After eight months of campaigning and knocking on over 9,000 doors,[40] Darouze was elected as a first time councillor in the 2014 municipal election for Osgoode Ward. He won with 1,783 votes and 21.06% in a crowded race.[41]
Darouze was re-elected in the 2018 municipal election as the councillor for Osgoode Ward. According to Horizon Ottawa, Darouze received $20,100 in campaign contributions from individuals connected to the real estate development industry, totaling 78% of contributions. Almost half of elected councillors also received the majority of their campaign contributions from such individuals.[42]
