Nicola Di Iorio

Nicola Di Iorio
MP
Di Iorio in July 2016
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel
Assumed office
October 19, 2015
Preceded by Massimo Pacetti
Personal details
Political party Liberal
Alma mater Université de Sherbrooke
Columbia University
Profession Attorney

Nicola Di Iorio MP is a Canadian politician, who was elected to represent the riding of Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 federal election.[1]

Early life and career

Di Iorio graduated from the Université de Sherbrooke in 1981 with a Bachelor of Laws.[2] He also attended Columbia University, and practised law for 32 years in Montreal, specializing in labour and employment law.[3] Di Iorio worked for now defunct law firm Heenan Blaikie.[4]

In 2010, his daughter was involved in an accident when a car she was in, that was driven by a drunk driver, hit a tree in his hometown of Mount Royal. She was rendered comatose for a month. As a result of this, Di Iorio became involved in a program to develop "Cool Taxi" coupons to assist people in getting a safe ride home. His involvement in the campaign brought him attention in the Quebec media, and led to his being nominated for Person of the Year by the local chamber of commerce.[4][5][3]

Federal politics

In 2015, Di Iorio announced his candidacy for the Liberal Party of Canada's nomination for the 2015 federal election in the riding of Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel. The previous incumbent, Massimo Pacetti, had been kicked out of the party as a result of a sexual harassment allegation, and Di Iorio earned the strong backing of the riding's Italian community.[5] There was some controversy surrounding the nomination battle, as one of his opponents, Domenic Cusmano, alleged that Di Iorio was distributing memberships in contravention of the rules.[6] Di Iorio nevertheless secured the nomination and won the subsequent general election.

Harassment allegations

During an in camera session of the Public Safety Committee meeting on March 8, 2017, Dianne Watts received a call on her cellphone, which emitted a "jaunty" ringtone. In response, Di Iorio remarked "Where's your pole to slide down on?" According to Watts, after the meeting, Di Iorio personally apologized to her about his comments, saying that he saw what he had meant as a joke had made her uncomfortable. Watts then dropped the matter, but Liberal MP Rob Oliphant, the chair of the committee, confirmed that information about the event had been passed on to Liberal whip Pablo Rodríguez. When this incident was reported on by the National Post on March 23, 2017, opposition MPs called for Di Iorio to be disciplined for his comment.[7][8] He subsequently apologized to the House of Commons for his comments.[9]

Resignation

Di Iorio announced on April 25, 2018, that he intended to resign his seat by summer for family reasons. He claimed that he had accomplished the goals he had set out for himself when he entered politics in 2015 such as securing funding to extend Montreal's Blue rapid transit line.[9]

Electoral record

Canadian federal election, 2015: Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalNicola Di Iorio28,82664.7+22.53–
New DemocraticRosannie Filato6,61114.8-17.20–
ConservativeJean Philippe Fournier4,95711.1-2.53–
Bloc QuébécoisSteeve Gendron3,2047.2-2.45–
GreenMelissa Miscione8051.8+0.03–
Marxist–LeninistArezki Malek1280.3-0.18–
Total valid votes/Expense limit 44,531100.0   $209,628.68
Total rejected ballots 689––
Turnout 45,22059.22+7.71
Eligible voters 76,351
Source: Elections Canada[10][11]

References

  1. ↑ Nicola Di Iorio lemporte dans Saint-Leonard—Saint-Michel, Journal de Montreal, October 19, 2015.
  2. ↑ Cocktail du 24 avril 2013 à Montréal - Au-delà du droit Université de Sherbrooke
  3. 1 2 Meet Nicola, Liberal.ca.
  4. 1 2 Montgomery, Sue (January 26, 2016). "Archives: Tragic night, shattered lives". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
  5. 1 2 Daniel LeBlanc, Liberals, Montreal’s Italian community pin hopes on Di Iorio, The Globe and Mail, May 15, 2015.
  6. ↑ Accusations fly in Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel race, CTV News, June 3, 2015.
  7. ↑ Akin, David (March 23, 2017). "Trudeau pressed to discipline male Liberal MP who joked about female Tory MP being a stripper". National Post. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
  8. ↑ Zimonjic, Peter (March 23, 2017). "Punish Liberal MP for sexist remark, say opposition MPs". CBC News. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
  9. 1 2 Cossette, Marc-André (April 25, 2018). "Liberal MP Nicola Di Iorio resigns, citing family reasons". CBC News. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  10. ↑ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, 30 September 2015
  11. ↑ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates
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