Nicola Di Iorio

Nicola Di Iorio (born March 13, 1958) is a Canadian politician and lawyer. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, he sat as the Member of Parliament for the riding of Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel from his victory in the 2015 federal election until his resignation in January 2019.

Nicola Di Iorio
Nicola Di Iorio at Canada Day Parade in Montreal in 2016
Di Iorio in 2016
Member of Parliament
for Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel
In office
October 19, 2015 – January 29, 2019
Preceded byMassimo Pacetti
Succeeded byPatricia Lattanzio
Personal details
Born (1958-03-13) March 13, 1958
Political partyLiberal
Alma materUniversité de Sherbrooke
Columbia University
ProfessionLawyer

Early life and career

Di Iorio graduated from the Université de Sherbrooke in 1981 with a Bachelor of Laws.[1] He also attended Columbia University, and practised law for 32 years in Montreal, specializing in labour and employment law.[2] He worked for now defunct law firm Heenan Blaikie.[3]

In 2010, his daughter was involved in an accident when a car she was in, which 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.[3][4][2]

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.[4] 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.[5] Di Iorio nevertheless secured the nomination and won the subsequent general election.

Inappropriate comments

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.[6][7] He subsequently apologized to the House of Commons for his comments.[8]

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.[8]

However, according to CBC News, Di Iorio had expected to handpick the Liberal candidate who would run in the riding for the 2019 Canadian federal election and leave his office by summer 2018. Once the party insisted that an open nomination would be held, he allegedly changed his mind about his resignation.[9] He gave an interview to a weekly newspaper saying that he would stay on for the rest of his mandate.[10] However, in late September, Di Iorio made a Facebook post saying that he was committed to his community and would take a month of reflection to decide on his future.[9] In late October, shortly after the Cannabis Act came into effect, he presented at a Montreal cannabis trade show, but solely as part of his second job as a labour and employment lawyer.[10] Following criticism for his absence from parliament, he announced in November that he would be resigning from parliament, effective January 22, 2019.[11] Di Iorio announced he would give back his salary received as an MP from September 22, 2018 to January 22, 2019.[12]

On January 22, 2019, Di Iorio donated $100,000 to support anti-drunk driving efforts, fulfilling an earlier promise to donate his salary since the start of his final parliamentary term.[13][14] He missed his self-imposed resignation deadline,[15] but submitted his official resignation on January 29 to the Speaker of the House of Commons.[16][17]

Electoral record
2015 Canadian federal election: 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[18][19]

References
  1. Cocktail du 24 avril 2013 à Montréal - Au-delà du droit Université de Sherbrooke
  2. Meet Nicola, Liberal.ca.
  3. Montgomery, Sue (January 26, 2016). "Archives: Tragic night, shattered lives". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
  4. LeBlanc, Daniel (May 15, 2015). "Liberals, Montreal's Italian community pin hopes on Di Iorio". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  5. "Accusations fly in St-Leonard—St-Michel Liberal race". CTV Montreal. June 3, 2015. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  6. 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.
  7. Zimonjic, Peter (March 23, 2017). "Punish Liberal MP for sexist remark, say opposition MPs". CBC News. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
  8. Cossette, Marc-André (April 25, 2018). "Liberal MP Nicola Di Iorio resigns, citing family reasons". CBC News. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  9. Simpson, Katie; Foisy, Philippe-Vincent (November 1, 2018). "'Missing' Liberal MP Di Iorio at the centre of nomination fight". CBC News. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  10. "Liberal MP Nicola Di Iorio's absence from Parliament puzzles colleagues". CBC News. The Canadian Press. November 2, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  11. Dangerfield, Katie (November 6, 2018). "Liberal MP Nicola Di Iorio announces resignation after parliament absence". Global News. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  12. "Liberal MP Nicola Di Iorio to give back salary until retirement in January". Global News. November 7, 2018. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  13. "L'ex-député Nicola Di Iorio donne 100 000 $ contre la conduite avec les facultés affaiblies". Le Journal de Montréal. January 22, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  14. LÉVESQUE, FANNY (2019-01-22). "Alcool au volant: Nicola Di Iorio fait un don de 100 000 $". La Presse (in French). Retrieved 2021-11-04.
  15. Aiello, Rachel (January 23, 2019). "Liberal MP Di Iorio misses self-declared deadline to resign". CTV News. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  16. Russell, Andrew (January 29, 2019). "Absentee Liberal MP Nicola Di Iorio officially resigns". Global News. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  17. Dib, Lina (January 29, 2019). "Le député Nicola Di Iorio quitte ses fonctions". La Presse (in Canadian French). Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  18. Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, 30 September 2015
  19. Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates
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