Vincenzo Arciresi
Encyclopedia
Vincenzo Arciresi is a politician and administrator in Montreal
, Quebec
, Canada
. He chaired the Commission scolaire Jérôme-Le Royer
from 1990 until its dissolution in 1998 and has chaired the successor Commission scolaire de la Pointe-de-l'Île
since its creation. He has also sought election to the Canadian House of Commons
.
and moved to Canada in 1966. Before entering public life, he owned a construction company and was founding president of the Federation of Sicilian Associations in Canada.
nomination for Anjou—Rivière-des-Prairies in the buildup to the 1988 Canadian federal election
, defeating Michael Stante; there were two other candidates, both of whom withdrew prior to the vote. The nomination contest attracted national attention when several thousand people joined the Liberals to participate in the vote, though in the event only 1,500 party members actually turned up. In his acceptance speech, Arciresi highlighted his support for social security, aid to seniors, and multiculturalism
, while opposing a proposed free trade agreement
with the United States of America. He was not a prominent public figure before winning the nomination, and critics believed his lack of fluency in either French or English would hurt his candidacy.
Political experts originally considered Arciresi to be the frontrunner for the general election, but he ultimately fell behind Progressive Conservative
star candidate Jean Corbeil
. On election day, Corbeil was elected by a margin of almost 20 per cent.
Arciresi later became a prominent local supporter of Alfonso Gagliano
, who served as the Liberal Member of Parliament
(MP) for a neighbouring riding from 1984 to 2002.
in 1987
and was re-elected in 1990
and 1994
. He was chosen as chair of the commission in December 1990 and held the position until Jérôme-Le Royer's dissolution in 1998.
The Jérôme-Le Royer board was divided by factionalism in the early 1990s. Some francophone parents and commissioners complained that the board was dominated by an Italian-Canadian
voting bloc that discriminated against francophone students. Arciresi responded that the accusation was false, and added, "It's been impossible to govern the commission with all the racists we have there." He welcomed a June 1991 decision by provincial education minister Michel Pagé
to investigate charges of institutional bias and favouritism. The subsequent investigation found no evidence supporting the charges, though it recommended that commissioners be prohibited from serving concurrently as city councillors to prevent the potential for a conflict-of-interest.
In 1993, new education minister Lucienne Robillard
accepted the report of an eleven-month investigation into problems at Jérôme-Le Royer and asked the provincial justice department to investigate allegations of mismanagement. She said that the investigation had focused on three key issues: oversight of education regulations, procedures for board member expenses, and suggestions that Arciresi was in a conflict-of-interest for serving on the executive of a construction firm that had initiated a lawsuit against the commission. Robillard also wrote Arciresi a letter requiring him "to review immediately the administrative procedures, to institute more rigorous handling of public funds, in regards to commissioners' expenses." Arciresi responded that he was the victim of a racist smear campaign
initiated by some parents and commissioners, charging that some commissioners did not want to see an allophone
serving as chair. He added that the board had already made the improvements required by Robillard, requested that she make her report public, and said that he was not in a conflict-of-interest.
Jérôme-Le Royer was restructured as the Commission scolaire de la Pointe-de-l'Île
in 1998. Arciresi was elected to the new board in the 1998 election
and was re-elected in 2003
and 2007
. He has served as chair of the board since its formation.
's Parti municipal
. He was re-elected without opposition in 1994 and 1998.
Saint-Leonard was amalgamated into the City of Montreal in 2001. Arciresi ran for a seat on the Montreal city council
in that year's municipal election
as a Vision Montreal
candidate and was defeated, finishing fourth in a three-member ward.
School commission elections
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He chaired the Commission scolaire Jérôme-Le Royer
Commission scolaire Jérôme-Le Royer
The Commission scolaire Jérôme-Le Royer is a former school board that was located in the east end of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was abolished by the government of Quebec on July 1, 1998, as part of a general transition from school boards representing religious communities to those representing...
from 1990 until its dissolution in 1998 and has chaired the successor Commission scolaire de la Pointe-de-l'Île
Commission scolaire de la Pointe-de-l'Île
The Commission scolaire de la Pointe-de-l'Île is a francophone school board in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, based primarily in the city's east end. It was created by the government of Quebec on July 1, 1998, as part of a general restructuring from school boards representing religious communities to...
since its creation. He has also sought election to the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
.
Early life and career
Arciresi was born in ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and moved to Canada in 1966. Before entering public life, he owned a construction company and was founding president of the Federation of Sicilian Associations in Canada.
Federal politics
Arciresi won the Liberal Party of CanadaLiberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
nomination for Anjou—Rivière-des-Prairies in the buildup to the 1988 Canadian federal election
Canadian federal election, 1988
The Canadian federal election of 1988 was held November 21, 1988, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 34th Parliament of Canada. It was an election largely fought on a single issue: the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement ....
, defeating Michael Stante; there were two other candidates, both of whom withdrew prior to the vote. The nomination contest attracted national attention when several thousand people joined the Liberals to participate in the vote, though in the event only 1,500 party members actually turned up. In his acceptance speech, Arciresi highlighted his support for social security, aid to seniors, and multiculturalism
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
, while opposing a proposed free trade agreement
Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement
The Free Trade Agreement was a trade agreement signed by Canada and the United States on October 4, 1988. The agreement, finalized by October 1987, removed several trade restrictions in stages over a ten year period, and resulted in a great increase in cross-border trade...
with the United States of America. He was not a prominent public figure before winning the nomination, and critics believed his lack of fluency in either French or English would hurt his candidacy.
Political experts originally considered Arciresi to be the frontrunner for the general election, but he ultimately fell behind Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
star candidate Jean Corbeil
Jean Corbeil
Jean Corbeil, was a Canadian politician.Born in Montreal, Quebec, he was mayor of the city of Anjou from 1973 to 1988. In 1987-1988 he served a term as chairman of the Canadian Federation of Municipalities...
. On election day, Corbeil was elected by a margin of almost 20 per cent.
Arciresi later became a prominent local supporter of Alfonso Gagliano
Alfonso Gagliano
Alfonso Gagliano, PC, FCGA is a Canadian accountant and a former Liberal Party politician.Born in Siculiana, Italy, his political career began in 1977 when he ran for a seat on the Montreal school board. In the 1984 federal election, he ran for Parliament for Saint-Léonard—Anjou narrowly...
, who served as the Liberal Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for a neighbouring riding from 1984 to 2002.
School commissioner
Arciresi was first elected to the Commission scolaire Jérôme-Le RoyerCommission scolaire Jérôme-Le Royer
The Commission scolaire Jérôme-Le Royer is a former school board that was located in the east end of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was abolished by the government of Quebec on July 1, 1998, as part of a general transition from school boards representing religious communities to those representing...
in 1987
Commission scolaire Jérôme-Le Royer election, 1987
Elections for trustee positions on the Commission scolaire Jérôme-Le Royer, in the Canadian province of Quebec, were held in November 1987.-Results:...
and was re-elected in 1990
Commission scolaire Jérôme-Le Royer election, 1990
Elections for trustee positions on the Commission scolaire Jérôme-Le Royer, in the Canadian province of Quebec, were held in November 1990.-Results:The following candidates were elected:*District 1: Johanne Lorrain*District 2: Gilles Dion...
and 1994
Commission scolaire Jérôme-Le Royer election, 1994
Elections for trustee positions on the Commission scolaire Jérôme-Le Royer, in the Canadian province of Quebec, were held in November 1994.-Results:...
. He was chosen as chair of the commission in December 1990 and held the position until Jérôme-Le Royer's dissolution in 1998.
The Jérôme-Le Royer board was divided by factionalism in the early 1990s. Some francophone parents and commissioners complained that the board was dominated by an Italian-Canadian
Italian-Canadian
An Italian Canadian is a Canadian of Italian descent or heritage. According to the 2006 census of Canada, 1,445,335 Canadians consider themselves to be of Italian origin. The Italian-Canadian population climbed by more than 12% and half have combined Italian origins along with another ethnic...
voting bloc that discriminated against francophone students. Arciresi responded that the accusation was false, and added, "It's been impossible to govern the commission with all the racists we have there." He welcomed a June 1991 decision by provincial education minister Michel Pagé
Michel Pagé
Michel Pagé is a businessman and former politician in the Canadian province of Quebec. He served in the National Assembly of Quebec from 1973 to 1992 as a Liberal and was a cabinet minister in the government of Robert Bourassa....
to investigate charges of institutional bias and favouritism. The subsequent investigation found no evidence supporting the charges, though it recommended that commissioners be prohibited from serving concurrently as city councillors to prevent the potential for a conflict-of-interest.
In 1993, new education minister Lucienne Robillard
Lucienne Robillard
Lucienne Robillard, PC is a Canadian politician and a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. She sat in the Canadian House of Commons as the Member of Parliament for the riding of Westmount—Ville-Marie in Montreal....
accepted the report of an eleven-month investigation into problems at Jérôme-Le Royer and asked the provincial justice department to investigate allegations of mismanagement. She said that the investigation had focused on three key issues: oversight of education regulations, procedures for board member expenses, and suggestions that Arciresi was in a conflict-of-interest for serving on the executive of a construction firm that had initiated a lawsuit against the commission. Robillard also wrote Arciresi a letter requiring him "to review immediately the administrative procedures, to institute more rigorous handling of public funds, in regards to commissioners' expenses." Arciresi responded that he was the victim of a racist smear campaign
Smear campaign
A smear campaign, smear tactic or simply smear is a metaphor for activity that can harm an individual or group's reputation by conflation with a stigmatized group...
initiated by some parents and commissioners, charging that some commissioners did not want to see an allophone
Allophone
In phonology, an allophone is one of a set of multiple possible spoken sounds used to pronounce a single phoneme. For example, and are allophones for the phoneme in the English language...
serving as chair. He added that the board had already made the improvements required by Robillard, requested that she make her report public, and said that he was not in a conflict-of-interest.
Jérôme-Le Royer was restructured as the Commission scolaire de la Pointe-de-l'Île
Commission scolaire de la Pointe-de-l'Île
The Commission scolaire de la Pointe-de-l'Île is a francophone school board in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, based primarily in the city's east end. It was created by the government of Quebec on July 1, 1998, as part of a general restructuring from school boards representing religious communities to...
in 1998. Arciresi was elected to the new board in the 1998 election
Commission scolaire de la Pointe-de-l'Île election, 1998
The first elections for trustee positions on the newly created Commission scolaire de la Pointe-de-l'Île, in the Canadian province of Quebec, were held on 14 June 1998.-Results:...
and was re-elected in 2003
Commission scolaire de la Pointe-de-l'Île election, 2003
Elections for trustee positions on the Commission scolaire de la Pointe-de-l'Île, in the Canadian province of Quebec, were held on November 16, 2003. Most contests were won by acclamation.-Results :...
and 2007
Commission scolaire de la Pointe-de-l'Île election, 2007
Elections for trustee positions on the Commission scolaire de la Pointe-de-l'Île, in the Canadian province of Quebec, were held on November 4, 2007...
. He has served as chair of the board since its formation.
City councillor
Arciresi was elected to the Saint-Leonard city council in 1990 as a member of Frank ZampinoFrank Zampino
Frank Zampino is a Montreal politician and a chartered accountant. He served as the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the City of Montreal and the city's second-ranking official...
's Parti municipal
Parti Municipal (Saint-Léonard)
The Parti Municipal was a political party that existed from 1990 to 2001 in the suburban community of Saint-Leonard in Montreal, Quebec, Canada...
. He was re-elected without opposition in 1994 and 1998.
Saint-Leonard was amalgamated into the City of Montreal in 2001. Arciresi ran for a seat on the Montreal city council
Montreal City Council
The Montreal City Council is the governing body of Montreal, Quebec. The head of the city government in Montreal is the mayor, who is first among equals in the City Council. The mayor is Gérald Tremblay, who is a member of the Union des citoyens et des citoyennes de l'Île de Montréal...
in that year's municipal election
Montreal municipal election, 2001
The 2001 Montreal municipal election took place on November 4, 2001, to elect a mayor and city councillors in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Gérald Tremblay defeated incumbent Pierre Bourque to become mayor of the newly amalgamated city....
as a Vision Montreal
Vision Montreal
Vision Montreal is a municipal political party in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It has been in existence since 1994 and presently forms the Official opposition on Montreal City Council under leader Louise Harel.-Origins:...
candidate and was defeated, finishing fourth in a three-member ward.
Electoral record
Federal and municipal electionsSchool commission elections
External links
- Vincent Arciresi: Président du Conseil, Commission scolaire de la Pointe-de-l'Île.