# Massimo Pacetti

Massimo Pacetti (born August 22, 1962) is a Canadian politician from Quebec, Canada. Pacetti was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in a 2002 by-election and continued as the Member of Parliament for Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel sitting with the Liberal caucus until 2014; he served his last year of office as an Independent MP.

## Life and career

Born in Montreal, Quebec, Pacetti is a former accountant and entrepreneur, and former commissioner of the Pointe-de-l'Île school board.
Pacetti ran as the Liberal candidate in a by-election in 2002 for a seat in the Canadian House of Commons and was elected in the riding of Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel. He was re-elected in the 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2011 general elections.
In May 2009, he introduced bill C-302, an "Act to recognize the injustice that was done to persons of Italian origin through their "enemy alien" designation and internment during the Second World War, and to provide for restitution and promote education on Italian-Canadian history [worth $2.5 million]" which was passed by the House of Commons on April 28, 2010. Canada Post was also to issue a commemorative postage stamp commemorating the internment of Italian-Canadian citizens, however, Bill C-302 did not pass through the necessary stages to become law.
Pacetti is the Vice–Chair of the Standing Committee on Finance (FINA) and the FINA Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure.
Pacetti opposed Parliament studying the definition of a human being, saying "In reality, this is just a back door to reopen the debate over abortion in Canada, and a debate that has been closed for many years."
On November 5, 2014, Pacetti and fellow MP Scott Andrews were both suspended from the Liberal Party caucus by leader Justin Trudeau, following allegations of harassment laid by two unnamed New Democratic Party MPs (in 2018 it was revealed that one of the MP was Christine Moore). Both Andrews and Pacetti sat for the remainder of the parliament as independent MPs pending investigation of the complaints. Pacetti announced on March 18, 2015 that he would not be running in the October 2015 federal election, however he continued to maintain that he is innocent of sexual misconduct. It had been reported that Trudeau had intended to meet Pacetti and Andrews later that day to inform them that they were being permanently expelled from the Liberal caucus and would not be allowed to run as Liberals in the next election.

## Electoral record

2011 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Massimo Pacetti | 15,340 | 42.30 | -14.95 |
| | New Democratic | Roberta Peressini | 11,720 | 32.32 | +21.64 |
| | Conservative | Riccardo De Ioris | 4,991 | 13.76 | -1.12 |
| | Bloc Québécois | Alain Bernier | 3,396 | 9.36 | -4.24 |
| | Green | Michael Di Pardo | 657 | 1.81 | -1.00 |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Garnet Colly | 162 | 0.45 | +0.02 |
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | 36,266 | 100.00 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 674 | 1.75 | +0.18 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,940 | 51.51 | -2.08 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 71,717 | – | – |
2008 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Massimo Pacetti | 21,652 | 57.25 | -0.08 | $58,674 |
| | Conservative | Lucie Le Tourneau | 5,627 | 14.88 | +0.47 | $28,585 |
| | Bloc Québécois | Farid Salem | 5,146 | 13.60 | -5.14 | $8,509 |
| | New Democratic | Laura Colella | 4,039 | 10.68 | +3.86 | $2,036 |
| | Green | Frank Monteleone | 1,063 | 2.81 | +0.50 | |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Garnet Colly | 165 | 0.43 | -0.09 | |
| | Independent | Joseph Young | 122 | 0.32 | – | $743 |
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | 37,814 | 100.00 | $81,851 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 604 | 1.57 | +0.05 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,418 | 53.59 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | -0.3 | |
vte2006 Canadian federal election: Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Massimo Pacetti | 23,705 | 57.17 | −6.73 | $66,670 |
| | Bloc Québécois | Justine Charlemagne | 7,772 | 18.74 | −3.11 | $20,789 |
| | Conservative | Ercolano Pingiotti | 5,975 | 14.41 | +9.13 | $15,672 |
| | New Democratic | Laura Colella | 2,831 | 6.83 | +0.85 | $4,702 |
| | Green | Pierre-Louis Parant | 961 | 2.32 | −0.01 | none listed |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Stéphane Chénier | 219 | 0.53 | −0.13 | none listed |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 41,463 | 100.00 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 640 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,103 | 57.00 | +2.48 |
| Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | 73,869 |
| Sources: Official Results, Elections Canada and Financial Returns, Elections Canada. |||||||
vte2004 Canadian federal election: Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Massimo Pacetti | 25,884 | 63.90 | −12.76 | $63,440 |
| | Bloc Québécois | Paul-Alexis François | 8,852 | 21.85 | +7.40 | $9,289 |
| | New Democratic | Laura Colella | 2,422 | 5.98 | | $6,007 |
| | Conservative | Payam Eslami | 2,138 | 5.28 | −0.11 | $5,647 |
| | Green | Ricardo Fellicetti | 944 | 2.33 | | none listed |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Stéphane Chénier | 267 | 0.66 | | none listed |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 40,507 | 100.00 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 855 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,362 | 54.52 |
| Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | 75,864 |
| Note: Conservative vote is compared to the Progressive Conservative vote in 2000 election. |||||||
| Sources: Official Results, Elections Canada and Financial Returns, Elections Canada. Percentage change totals are in relation to the 2000 general election. |||||||
Canadian federal by-election, 13 May 2002 Retirement of Alfonso Gagliano :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Massimo Pacetti | 14,076 | 83.5 | +6.9 |
| | Bloc Québécois | Umberto Di Genova | 1,495 | 8.9 | -5.6 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Antonio Cordeiro | 634 | 3.8 | +1.5 |
| | New Democratic | Normand Caplette | 447 | 2.7 | +1.5 |
| | Marijuana | Marc-Boris St-Maurice | 197 | 1.2 | -0.2 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 16,849 | 100.0 |