Frances Nunziata ( , ; born ) is a Canadian politician who has served as the

speaker of Toronto City Council The Speaker of Toronto City Council chairs meetings of Toronto City Council. With the written consent of the Mayor, the Speaker and a Deputy Speaker are elected by Toronto City Council from among its members. While municipal council meetings in O ...

since December 1, 2010. Nunziata presently represents

Ward 5 York South—Weston Ward 5 York South—Weston is a municipal electoral division in Toronto, Ontario that has been represented in the Toronto City Council since the 2018 municipal election. It was last contested in 2022, with Frances Nunziata elected councillor f ...

. She is the sister of former member of Parliament (MP)

John Nunziata John Nunziata ( , ; born January 4, 1955) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician. He first served as an Alderman in the Borough of York from 1978 to 1982. He served three terms as a Liberal MP in the House of Commons of Canada from York South ...

and aunt of Toronto District School Board Trustee Patrick Nunziata.

Background

accounting clerk Bookkeeping is the recording of financial transactions, and is part of the process of accounting in business and other organizations. It involves preparing source documents for all transactions, operations, and other events of a business. ...

, she became head of the Harwood Ratepayers Association. She was first elected to office in 1985 as school board trustee for the

City of York The City of York is a unitary authority area with city status in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. The district's main settlement is York, and it extends to the surrounding area including the town of Haxby and the villages of E ...

School Board.

Political career

In 1985 she was elected as school board trustee for the City of York School Board. In 1988, she was elected to the York City Council, ousting incumbent Gary Bloor. On city council, she was involved in the Fairbank Park affair as a whistleblower. Nunziata leaked material to the press illustrating irregularities in the process, leading to a police investigation of several local politicians. After he reportedly threatened her, Nunziata took councillor Nicolo Fortunato to court. Fortunato also filed charges against Nunziata. In the 1994 election, Nunziata challenged incumbent York mayor

Fergy Brown James Fergus Brown (31 October 1923 – 3 April 2013) was a politician in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He served as Mayor of York from 1988 to 1994. Background Brown was born in Scotland, and moved to the neighbourhood of Mount Dennis in York, To ...

and was elected. As mayor, her main cause was an unsuccessful campaign to construct a subway line under Eglinton avenue.

Toronto City Council

With the creation of the megacity in 1997, she was elected to

Toronto city council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The current term began on November 15, 2022. Structure The cur ...

. On city council, she mostly concerned herself with law and order issues, like advocating for the city to have the power to impound the vehicles of men caught soliciting street prostitutes. On December 7, 2010, she was elected as

Speaker of Toronto City Council The Speaker of Toronto City Council chairs meetings of Toronto City Council. With the written consent of the Mayor, the Speaker and a Deputy Speaker are elected by Toronto City Council from among its members. While municipal council meetings in O ...

. In 2021, she stopped an effort by councillor

Kristyn Wong-Tam Kristyn Wong-Tam (born ) is a Canadian politician who has represented Toronto Centre in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 2022 as a member of the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP). They served on Toronto City Council from 2010 to 2022 ...

to get details on city expenditures and decision-making associated with the controversial clearing of park encampments for the homeless.

Discrimination Claims

In 2010, George Berger, an executive assistant who worked for her in 2005 brought her before the

Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario , logo = , logo_width = , logo_caption = , formed = , dissolved = , jurisdiction = Province of Ontario , headquarters = 25 Grosvenor Street Toronto, Ontario , minister1_name = Attorney General ...

, claiming harassment and discrimination during his employment. Berger claims that he was targeted due to a disability. Nunziata’s lawyer argued that there was no discrimination on the basis of disability. Berger was asking for monetary compensation and an apology. While Nunziata’s alleged conduct toward him was found to be “clearly rude and demeaning”, the judge ruled that his disability and her conduct were not related. However, the Ontario’s human rights tribunal found the City of Toronto had violated his rights.

Committees & Boards

* Audit Committee * Budget Committee * Civic Appointments Committee * Collective Bargaining Subcommittee * Etobicoke York Community Council * General Government and Licensing Committee * George Bell Arena Board * Planning and Housing Committee * Striking Committee * Toronto Community Housing Corporation * Toronto Police Services Board Nunziata also serves on the Weston Village BIA, the Mount Dennis BIA, Rockcliffe-Smythe NAP, York South-Weston NAP, Weston Village Residents Association, the Syme 55+ Centre Board of Directors and the George Bell Arena Board of Management.

Electoral record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nunziata, Frances Canadian people of Italian descent Mayors of York, Ontario Toronto city councillors Metropolitan Toronto councillors Women mayors of places in Ontario Living people Women municipal councillors in Canada Year of birth missing (living people)