Thursday, March 15,

Canada Won't Allow Italians to Vote Abroad !! US Next ??

The ANNOTICO Report

 

It looks like the Italians Abroad voting in Italy's Elections, and Representatives in Italy's Parliment  will be a short lived experiment.

 

Canada Won't Allow Italians to Vote Abroad

Ottawa to withdraw its consent to foreign elections on Canadian soil

 Tandem.

Italians in Canada, News,Arts, & Sports

By Angelo Persichilli

 Mar18, 2007 - Mar25, 2007

The current Italian Parliament will be the last one where Gino Bucchino or any other MP from Canada will sit. Corriere Canadese/Tandem has learned that the federal government has decided not to renew its authorization for the election of a Canadian resident to the Italian Parliament.

Rumours had been circulating for some time, but last week they were confirmed by reliable sources during a mission of a Canadian delegation to Milan.

The cabinet led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper has already made this decision, and according to our sources the official announcement will come in a matter of weeks or even days.

The same sources claimed, "the Canadian government has great respect for Italy, the Italian Parliament and all Canadians of Italian origin. Unfortunately, there are some situations within Canada that must be addressed and that led us to adopt such a decision."
Our sources did not give details on these "situations", but most likely this expression refers to other national communities that would be ready to request to be allowed, like the Italians, to cast votes in their native countries' elections.

However, some of those communities have politically delicate situations at home, and if those issues were transferred to Canada, this could engender problems and dangerous diatribes.

At present, the government seems unanimous in denying any repetition of last year's election. There seems to be a split, though, between those who would simply forbid Canadian residents to run for a foreign Parliament but allow the simple casting of ballots, and those who would prefer blocking everything altogether.

Apparently, Canada's about-face could be followed by other countries, in particular Australia and possibly even the United States.
We are unable to confirm whether Canada's Foreign Ministry has discussed this position with any other country.
Permission had been very reluctantly granted to Italians in Canada to vote and eventually elect a representative to the Italian Parliament on November 24, 2005.

Then-PM Paul Martin granted the authorization under pressure from several MPs of Italian origin and especially from then-Foreign minister Pierre Pettigrew. Pettigrew represented Montrial's Outremont ward, which includes many voters of Italian heritage. He was afraid of negative impacts on his re-election bid.

In the end, Pettigrew was defeated alongside the Liberal government.

The reasons for the great reluctance in allowing Italians to vote were the same that are now leading PM Harper to withdraw the authorization.
Martin's Liberal cabinet had granted authorization for one election only, reserving to review its decision in future.

Disappointed but not surprised

Gino Bucchino comments Ottawa's change of heart

Mr. Bucchino, were you surprised by the news? "Certainly not, as there had been warning signs."

Such as?

"For instance, the Canadian ambassador to Rome never called, invited, contacted me. Of course I am an Italian citizen, but I am also a Canadian citizen who sits in the Italian Parliament."

Were your colleagues from other countries treated differently?

"Sure. Salvatore Ferrigno and Renato Turani were invited by the U.S. ambassador. The same goes for the others, from Switzerland and other countries. The Canadian government, on the other hand, simply acted as if the election had never taken place. This happened even with the Liberals, which confirms my opinion that their last-minute decision to authorize the campaign and the election in Canada was forced. Then-Foreign minister Pierre Pettigrew was trying to shore up his political career. However, that kind of gamble did not pay off."
Unsurprised, then, but surely disappointed?

"Of course. Not just from a personal standpoint, but for other very important reasons as well. I think that Canada has something to teach the rest of the world. I believe in multiculturalism, a policy that goes beyond integration and brings enrichment and interaction among the various communities. I still envision Canada as the country of the future, a globalized future. In a small way, I think I might have given a contribution; I might have made myself useful. To date, however, my presence has been ignored."

Will you continue in your action anyway?

"Yes, I think I will manage to contribute to rid Italy of a certain provincial attitude, precisely because I come from Canada."
What do you mean?

"For instance, right now I'm trying to explain that immigration must be addressed with solidarity and tolerance. We need to stop calling all immigrants by first name and convince ourselves that immigrants bring warmth to our way of living. Immigration will help us grow even from the demographic point of view, and open our country to the world."

How do you intend to go on with your work?

"Now I'm trying to focus on this aspect, facilitating the integration of immigrants with the acquisition of civil rights and therefore advocating the concession of citizenship after five years of residence; the immediate recognition of Italian citizenship for anyone born on Italian soil; grant the right to healthcare, something that is now only on paper; and give more protection to women in the workplace, prevention expulsion during pregnancy regardless of legal residence and up to one year after birth. I would like to pressure Italy to sign conventions with countries of emigration, such as Morocco and the Philippines, on the issue of social security. Italy did this for its own citizens living abroad, for instance with Canada. I would like Italy to execute conventions signed, such as the 1994 one with Morocco, and not yet ratified."

What about Canada?

"There's a lot we can do. Just one example: I submitted an official Parliamentary question on double taxation, to clarify the rules on where people are supposed to pay their taxes. There is an agreement between Italy and Canada, signed in 2000, which Ottawa ratified in 2002 but Rome still hasn't. There are Italian citizens living here who are at risk because of this missing ratification."

Returning to the imminent decision from Ottawa. Do you foresee official reactions from the Italian government?

"Honestly, I don't think so. I feel that the Italian Parliament - MPs and Senators from all parties - still regard us all like martians, as if we had no right to be there and participate with their work. I think that both coalitions were forced to pass the law because of former minister Tremaglia's pressuring, but it wasn't really heartfelt. We have to beg for attention within our Parliamentary groups. This is partly our own fault, since we have been unable to work together to boost our contractual force."

What do you mean?

"In Parliament, if you don't dig in your heels and elbow your way forward, you obtain nothing."

No official reaction then.

"Let's just say, I don't think Italian parties will tear their hair out. I don't rule out the possibility that they might use this decision as a pretext for reviewing everything and reconsider the voting rights for Italians abroad."

How, exactly?

"There are attempts to allow Italian residents to be elected abroad. Forza Italia would certainly favour this solution."

Publication Date: 2007-03-18
Story Location: http://www.tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=7120

 

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