- Dean Del Mastro
-
Dean A. Del Mastro Member of Parliament
for PeterboroughIncumbent Assumed office
2006Preceded by Peter Adams Personal details Born August 16, 1970
Peterborough, OntarioPolitical party Conservative Spouse(s) Kelly Del Mastro Residence Peterborough Profession Auto Dealer Religion Catholic[1] Dean A. Del Mastro, (born August 16, 1970) is a Canadian politician. Since 2006, he has represented Peterborough in the Canadian House of Commons as a member of the Conservative Party. He is currently the parliamentary secretary to the minister of Canadian Heritage.
Contents
Early life and career
Del Mastro was born to an Italian Canadian family in Peterborough, began high school in Lakefield, and graduated from the Adam Scott Collegiate and Vocational Institute. He attended the Odette School of Business at the University of Windsor,[2] and he later worked in a Suzuki car dealership owned by his family.[3]
Del Mastro was originally a supporter of the Liberal Party of Canada, though he has said he became disillusioned with the party after the 1993 federal election.[4]
Political career
Del Mastro won the Conservative nomination for Peterborough over six other contenders in May 2005, defeating former party nominee James Jackson by only eight votes on the final ballot.[5] He was elected in the 2006 federal election, narrowly defeating his Liberal Party opponent. The Conservatives won a minority government in this election, and Del Mastro entered parliament as a backbench supporter of Stephen Harper's administration. He was re-elected with an increased majority in the 2008 election, as the Harper government increased its seat total but fell short of a majority.
He was appointed as parliamentary secretary to the minister of Canadian Heritage on November 7, 2008.[6] According to his website, he is also the parliamentary secretary to the minister of Sport.[7]
- Cultural issues
After the 2006 election, Harper charged Del Mastro with coordinating the Conservative Party's outreach to Lebanese Canadian voters.[8] Del Mastro planned to participate in a parliamentary delegation to the Middle East organized by the National Council on Canada-Arab Relations in August 2006, during the period of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict. He withdrew from the trip at the last minute, and there are conflicting reports as to the reasons for this decision.[9] Some charge that the Prime Minister's Office pressured him not to participate in a trip that would challenge the government's pro-Israel line, although Del Mastro denied this and cited security concerns.[10]
Del Mastro spoke against a Private Member's Bill introduced by Liberal Member of Parliament Massimo Pacetti in 2010 that called on the government to issue an official apology for the internment of Italian Canadians in World War II. Del Mastro argued that the bill was poorly drafted and could leave the government vulnerable to lawsuits, and said that most Italian Canadians were satisfied with an informal apology issued by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney twenty years earlier.[11] The bill was approved by the House of Commons, without Conservative support.[12]
- Passenger rail service
In 2007, Del Mastro lobbied the Harper government to reopen a passenger train service link from Peterborough to Toronto that was cut by Via Rail seventeen years earlier. He estimated that the track upgrades would cost $150 million and that the service would be used by nine hundred people daily.[13] In February 2008, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced that his government would reopen the line. Although locally popular, this plan was widely criticized as impractical, improperly planned, and designed for political gain. Some editorials noted that the line would travel through several Conservative ridings, including Flaherty's own.[14] A 2010 study commissioned by the provincial and federal governments estimated that capital costs for the project would run between $541 million and $1.5 billion. Del Mastro criticized these figures and accused the study's creators of bias, while acknowledging that the project would probably not move forward if assessed solely on the basis of that one report.[15]
Del Mastro has also led a non-partisan House of Commons Rail Caucus and has lobbied for a high-speed link connecting Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa.[16]
- Social issues
Del Mastro is a social conservative. In 2006, he supported an unsuccessful government motion that would have reopened the parliamentary debate on same-sex marriage (which has been legal in Canada since 2005).[17] He has also taken part in anti-abortion rallies on Parliament Hill, including one organized by the Campaign Life Coalition in 2007.[18]
- Other
Del Mastro was a Conservative representative on the House of Commons Ethics Committee in 2007 and took part in the committee's work on the controversial business dealings between Karlheinz Schreiber and Brian Mulroney.[19]
In 2009, he spoke against a proposal that would have allowed Canada's broadcasters to bill cable and satellite companies for transmitting their signals.[20]
- Provincial politics
When John Tory resigned as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario in 2009, Del Mastro was briefly rumoured as a candidate to become his successor.[21] Nothing came of this, and he later announced his support for Christine Elliott's candidacy.[22]
Electoral record
2011 federal election : Peterborough edit Party Candidate Votes % +/- Expenditures Conservative (x)Dean Del Mastro 29,535 49.7 - - Liberal Betsy McGregor 12,757 21.5 - = New Democratic Party Dave Nickle 14,722 24.8 - - Green Michael Bell 2,105 3.5 - - Total valid votes/Expense Limit - - - - Total rejected ballots - - - - Turnout - - - - Electors on the lists - - - - Conservative hold Swing - 2008 federal election : Peterborough edit Party Candidate Votes % +/- Expenditures Conservative (x)Dean Del Mastro 27,630 47.40 +11.50 $90,988 Liberal Betsy McGregor 18,417 31.60 -0.77 $83,805 New Democratic Party Steve Sharpe 8,115 13.92 -11.76 $47,973 Green Emily Berrigan 4,029 6.91 +1.86 $10,235 Marxist-Leninist Elaine Couto 98 0.17 none listed Total valid votes/Expense Limit 58,289 100.00 $92,567 Total rejected ballots 164 0.28 -0.04 Turnout 58,453 63.32 -6.34 Electors on the lists 92,317 Conservative hold Swing +11.6 2006 federal election : Peterborough edit Party Candidate Votes % +/- Expenditures Conservative Dean Del Mastro 22,774 35.90 +3.98 $80,784 Liberal Diane Lloyd 20,532 32.37 -11.18 $68,799 New Democratic Party Linda Slavin 16,286 25.68 +6.67 $61,606 Green Brent Wood 3,205 5.05 -0.47 $7,949 Marijuana Aiden Wiechula 455 0.72 none listed Independent Bob Bowers 179 0.28 none listed Total valid votes/Expense Limit 63,431 100.00 $86,008 Total rejected ballots 207 0.33 -0.01 Turnout 63,638 69.66 +4.47 Electors on the lists 91,361 Sources: Official Results, Elections Canada and Financial Returns, Elections Canada.
References
- ^ A 2010 report in the Peterborough Examiner indicates that Del Mastro identifies as a Catholic, but generally attends a Pentecostal church service. See Fiona Isaacson, "Catholics ‘in good standing’ attend mass: priest," Peterborough Examiner, accessed 28 August 2010.
- ^ A newspaper report from January 2006 indicates that he left two credits short of a degree after a family member was diagnosed with a serious illness. Brendan Wedley, "Dean team on top," Peterborough Examiner, 24 January 2006, B1. Other sources suggest that he later completed his degree. See for instance Todd Vandonk, "Dean hoping Peterborough is still feelin' blue," Peterborough This Week, 13 September 2008, B1; Lauren Gilchrist, "Del Mastro rolls his way to victory," Peterborough This Week, 15 October 2008, p. 1.
- ^ Don Butler, "The front lines," Ottawa Citizen, 7 January 2006, B1.
- ^ Trevor Wilhem, "Ex-Liberal runs for Conservatives," Peterborough Examiner, 29 November 2005, B3.
- ^ The other contenders were Aaron Anderson, Darrin Langen, Paul Peterson, Alan Wilson, and Bill Hampton. See Vivian Song, "Conservatives choose political newcomer locally: 'Family man, successful entrepreneur'," Peterborough Examiner, 16 May 2005, A1. Anderson was thirty-one years old and on the right-wing of the party, and said that he ran to advance the role of Christians in politics. He was born in Peterborough but later moved to Toronto. See Rachel Punch, "Field growing for those seeking Conservative nomination in riding," Peterborough Examiner, 29 April 2005, A3. Alan Wilson has served as chair of the Peterborough Lakefield Community Police Services Board and described himself in 2005 as a centrist. See Mike Lacey, "Alan Wilson makes it five after nomination," Peterborough This Week, 29 April 2005, p .3; Rachel Punch, "Another Tory candidate steps up," Peterborough Examiner, 30 April 2005, B1. Bill Hampton was a lawyer in the Peterborough area. He was forty-three years old, described himself as "middle of the road," and favoured human rights and public health care. See "Lawyer seeks Conservative nomination," Peterborough This Week, 27 April 2005, p. 2; Elizabeth Bower, "Four-way race for nomination," Peterborough Examiner, 27 April 2005, B1.
- ^ Dean Del Mastro: Roles, Member of Parliament Profile (Current), Parliament of Canada, accessed 28 August 2010.
- ^ About Dean, Dean Del Mastro, accessed 28 August 2010.
- ^ Jennifer Ditchburn, "MPs set to visit Syria, Lebanon," Toronto Star, 9 August 2006, A7; Daniel LeBlanc, "Tories target specific ethnic voters," Globe and Mail, 16 October 2007, A1.
- ^ Graham Fraser and Tonda MacCharles, "Tory MP backs out of Middle East visit," Toronto Star, 16 August 2006, A12.
- ^ Mark MacKinnon, "A tour of Lebanon and harsh words for Harper," Globe and Mail, 21 August 2006, A10; "Tory MP says he wasn't pressured to quit Mideast trip," Ottawa Citizen, 16 August 2006, A9.
- ^ "Official apology sought for Italian Canadians," Toronto Star, 24 April 2010, A18; Gloria Galloway, "Italians seek new apology from Canada over war internment; First gesture from Mulroney deemed inadequate," Globe and Mail, 30 April 2010, A8.
- ^ "MPs vote for apology to Italian-Canadians, but Tories opposed," Canadian Press, 28 April 2010, 18:20.
- ^ Jeff Gray and Steven Chase, "Flaherty's train catches his officials off guard," Globe and Mail, 29 February 2008, A1.
- ^ "Flaherty's folly" [editorial], Toronto Star, 29 February 2008, A4; "This is no way to run a railroad" [editorial], Kitchener-Waterloo Record, 1 March 2008, A14; "Flaherty's wild ride" [editorial], Globe and Mail, 3 March 2008, A12. A confidential report by the provincial government, drafted in 2006 and made available after the controversy arose, listed the Peterborough-Toronto link in the lowest priority range for transport improvement in the Greater Toronto Area. See Patricia Best, "Flaherty's train gets derailed," Globe and Mail, 5 March 2008, B2.
- ^ Tess Kalinowski, "Price tag threatens Peterborough railway link," Toronto Star, 21 May 2010, GT1.
- ^ David Akin, "Ontario MP pushes for high-speed rail plan," Montreal Gazette, 8 January 2009, A8.
- ^ Janice Tibbetts, "Same-sex debate: 'Time to move on'," Ottawa Citizen, 8 December 2006, A3.
- ^ Julie Smyth, "MPS use rally to press for abortion law," National Post, 11 May 2007, A7.
- ^ Jack Aubry and Juliet O'Neill, "Schreiber stays -- for now," Ottawa Citizen, 29 November 2007, A1; Daniel LeBlanc, "Mulroney must explain cash payments, Tory MP says, Globe and Mail, 13 December 2007, A4; Jennifer Ditchburn, "Conservative MPs kind to Mulroney while following a script," Associated Press, 13 December 2007, 17:15.
- ^ Jennifer Ditchburn, "Fee-for-carriage bid by broadcasters dead on Parliament Hill," Canadian Press, 19 June 2009, 16:47.
- ^ Lee Greenberg, "Tory quits a party he failed to unite," National Post, 7 March 2009, A1.
- ^ Maria Babbage, "Kenney backs Hudak in Ont. leadership race," Canadian Press, 27 April 2009, 18:57.
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