Tony Tomassi (born January 15, 1971 in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

) is a

politician. He is the former Member of

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput ...

for the riding of LaFontaine in Montreal. He formerly represented the Quebec Liberal Party and was the Minister for Family, but was an independent until May 3, 2012, date of his resignation. Tomassi studied at the

Université du Québec à Montréal The Université du Québec à Montréal (English: University of Quebec in Montreal), also known as UQAM, is a French-language public university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the Université du Qué ...

and the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte- ...

but did not receive a university degree. He was a political aide for Liberal members for Bourget and Jeanne-Mance. He later became a general manager at Group Genco. He was also a member of the Montreal Board of Trade. Tomassi was a candidate for the

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; french: Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) was a centre-right federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 until 1942, the ...

Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel (formerly Saint-Léonard) is a federal electoral district within the City of Montreal in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1988. Its population during the 2011 el ...

, in the 1993 federal elections but was not elected as the Conservatives were reduced to just two seats in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

. He would run in provincial politics and was elected in 2003 in LaFontaine as a Liberal. He was re-elected in 2007 and named the parliamentary secretary to Premier

Jean Charest John James "Jean" Charest (; born June 24, 1958) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 29th premier of Quebec from 2003 to 2012 and the fifth deputy prime minister of Canada in 1993. Charest was elected to the House o ...

. Following the 2008 elections, he was named for the first time in the Cabinet being designated as the Minister for Family replacing Michelle Courchesne who kept the portfolios of Education, Recreation and Sport. On May 6, 2010, after much controversy around the attribution of publicly subsidized daycare licenses, Tony Tomassi was asked to resign as Minister for Family and to leave the Liberal caucus, after it was revealed he was using a business credit card in the name of Canadian Bureau of Investigations and Adjustments while sitting as an MNA. His portfolio was given to

Yolande James Yolande James (born November 21, 1977 in Montreal, Quebec) is a former Quebec provincial politician. She was the first black female MNA and the youngest, as well as the first black cabinet minister in Quebec history. A member of the Quebec Lib ...

. On May 3, 2012, he resigned his seat in the Quebec National Assembly. In a brief statement, Tomassi, said he had represented the east-end Montreal LaFontaine riding “with pride.” “And I recognize the confidence they showed in me on three occasions since 2003,” he wrote. “In the circumstances, I tried to remain an MNA present in my riding, accessible and listening to citizens.” In October 2013, his name came up again in the Charbonneau Commission when François Crête, former chief of staff for then-environment minister Line Beauchamp, told the Charbonneau Commission that Tomassi had been lobbying for company called Carboneutre which was run by Domenic Arcuri, who has ties to the Rizzuto clan, and mob enforcer Raynald Desjardins. While the two men were seeking funds from the investment arm of Quebec's largest labour movement, Tomassi, then Minister for Family, was lobbying environment minister Beauchamp to grant the company a permit to decontaminate soil. He is married to

Clementina Teti-Tomassi Clementina Teti-Tomassi is a Canadians, Canadian politician. Currently a member of Montreal City Council, she represents the Marie-Clarac ward in the borough of Montréal-Nord. First elected in the 2009 Montreal municipal election, 2009 municipal ...

, a former Montreal City Councillor."Beauchamp surprise guest at Bourassa—Sauvé nomination"
'' The Gazette'', August 4, 2012.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tomassi, Tony 1971 births Living people Quebec Liberal Party MNAs Université du Québec à Montréal alumni Independent MNAs in Quebec People from Montréal-Nord Canadian people of Italian descent Politicians from Montreal Progressive Conservative Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Candidates in the 1993 Canadian federal election 21st-century Canadian politicians