Joe Peschisolido

Joe Peschisolido (born April 27, 1963) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Richmond from 2000 to 2004 and as the MP for Steveston—Richmond East from 2015 to 2019. He was first elected as a member of the Canadian Alliance, but crossed the floor to the Liberal Party in 2002.

The Honourable Joe Peschisolido PC
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Steveston—Richmond East
In office October 19, 2015 – September 11, 2019
Preceded by	new district
Succeeded by	Kenny Chiu
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Richmond
In office November 27, 2000 – June 28, 2004
Preceded by	Raymond Chan
Succeeded by	Raymond Chan
Personal details
Born	April 27, 1963 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Political party	Liberal (Before 1993; 2002–present)
Other political affiliations	Reform (1993-2000) Canadian Alliance (2000-2002)
Residence	Richmond, British Columbia
Profession	Lawyer

Background

Peschisolido has a Bachelor of Arts (honours) degree in political science from Trinity College at the University of Toronto and a law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School. Peschisolido is a fourth degree knight of the Knights of Columbus in Richmond, a member of the Rotary Club of Richmond Sunset and a member of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce.He is an active parishioner of Canadian Martyrs Catholic Church and is a vegan, who believes in making healthy and sustainable food choices.[1]

Political career

For decades, Peschisolido was a member of the Liberal Party, where he had worked as a youth co-ordinator for Jean Chrétien's 1990 leadership campaign. In 1993, he joined the Reform Party of Canada (later the Canadian Alliance), running as their candidate in Etobicoke North in the 1993 general election and a subsequent 1996 by-election. He placed second both times.

First term (2000 to 2004)

Peschisolido relocated to British Columbia, where he was elected as Member of Parliament for Richmond in the 2000 general election, defeating Liberal incumbent, Raymond Chan.

In 2002, Peschisolido left the Canadian Alliance and crossed the floor to the Liberal Party without consulting with his constituents. This was due to the "process of political realignment" which eliminated both the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party, and instead creating the Conservative Party of Canada.

While serving in office, Peschisolido fought to protect the rights of taxpayers by introducing the "Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights" in the 37th Parliament's first, second, and third sessions.[2]

In 2002, Peschisolido helped broker the original Garden City land deal, which saw the transfer of said lands from the Canadian federal government to the City of Richmond. This deal would have seen the City of Richmond receive 75 to 80 percent of the land, with the rest of the property set aside for a trade and exhibition center, as well as commercial development.[3]

In 2003, he served as Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs.[4] He was also Vice-Chair for the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities.[5]

2011 election

In 2011, Peschisolido won the Liberal nomination for Member of Parliament for Richmond in the 2011 Canadian federal election. However, he was defeated by Alice Wong by more than 17,000 votes.

Second term (2015 to 2019)

On August 11, 2015, Peschisolido again won the Liberal nomination for Member of Parliament in the new riding of Steveston—Richmond East for the 2015 Canadian federal election.[6]

On October 19, 2015, as a Liberal majority government was formed,[7] Peschisolido was returned to Parliament.[8]

In July 2019, Global News reported the Royal Canadian Mounted Police opened an investigation into Peschisolido "after confidential police informants alleged the veteran politician had been knowingly associating with Chinese organized crime figures through his former real estate law practice in Richmond, B.C." Peschisolido's law firm allegedly received money via illicit channels from China as part of an attempt by the firm's clients to circumvent the legal immigration process.[9] No charges have been laid against Peschisolido or lawyers at his firm.[10][11][12][13][14]

On February 5, 2020 the Ethics Commissioner of Canada released an investigative report on Peschisolido. The Commissioner found Peschisolido contravened subsections 21(3) and 20(1) of the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons for failing to file a statement of material change and by failing to file a full statement of the private interests of the members of his family, including his spouse.

He was defeated in the 2019 Canadian federal election.

Electoral record

2019 Canadian federal election: Steveston—Richmond East
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Kenny Chiu	17,478	41.7	+3.3
	Liberal	Joe Peschisolido	14,731	35.1	-9.9
	New Democratic	Jaeden Dela Torre	6,321	15.1	+3.0
	Green	Nicole Iaci	2,972	7.1	+3.5
	Independent	Ping Chan	449	1.1	–	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			41,951	100.0	–	105,107.07
Total rejected ballots			431	1.0	–
Turnout			42,382	57.4	–
Eligible voters			73,840
	Conservative notional gain from Liberal		Swing		–
Source: Elections Canada[15][16][17]

2015 Canadian federal election: Steveston—Richmond East
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Joe Peschisolido	19,486	45.1	+26.5	–
	Conservative	Kenny Chiu	16,630	38.5	-15.42	–
	New Democratic	Scott Stewart	5,248	12.1	-10.72	–
	Green	Laura-Leah Shaw	1,587	3.7	-0.44	–
	Libertarian	Matthew Swanston	274	0.6	–	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			43,225	100.0		$203,894.63
Total rejected ballots			287	–	–
Turnout			43,512	60.8%	–
Eligible voters			71,526
	Liberal notional gain from Conservative		Swing		+20.96
Source: Elections Canada[18][19]

2011 Canadian federal election: Richmond
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Alice Wong	25,109	58.36	+8.59	$89,330.05
	Liberal	Joe Peschisolido	8,027	18.66	-12.19	$54,757.85
	New Democratic	Dale Jackaman	7,860	18.27	+6.46	$9,038.79
	Green	Michael Wolfe	2,032	4.72	-1.71	$2,933.09
Total valid votes/Expense limit			43,028	100.0		$91,788.64
Total rejected ballots			220	0.51	+0.06
Turnout			43,248	50.97	+1
Eligible voters			84,855
	Conservative hold		Swing		+10.39

2000 Canadian federal election: Richmond
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Alliance	Joe Peschisolido	21,064	44.40	+8.44	$58,128
	Liberal	Raymond Chan	19,940	42.04	-1.77	$63,896
	New Democratic	Gail Paquette	2,695	5.68	-3.88	$10,941
	Progressive Conservative	Frank Peter Tofin	2,578	5.43	-2.85	$4,329
	Green	Kevan Hudson	897	1.89	+0.53	$61
	Natural Law	Kathy McClement	164	0.34	-0.05
	Marxist–Leninist	Edith Petersen	93	0.19	-0.02	$10
Total valid votes			47,431	100.0
Total rejected ballots			218	0.47	-0.03
Turnout			47,649	61.70	-3.19
	Alliance gain from Liberal		Swing		+5.10

By-election on March 25, 1996 Etobicoke North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Roy Cullen	12,290	46.3	-9.3
	Reform	Joe Peschisolido	9,563	36.0	+17.2
	Progressive Conservative	Mario Annecchini	2,812	10.6	-8.2
	New Democratic	Maxine Caron	1,400	5.3	+1.6
	Christian Heritage	Ron Gray	284	1.1
	Abolitionist	John Turmel	104	0.4
	Independent	Sylvie Charbin	96	0.4
Total valid votes			26,549	100.0

1993 Canadian federal election: Etobicoke North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Roy MacLaren	28,015	55.6	+10.3
	Reform	Joe Peschisolido	9,470	18.8
	Progressive Conservative	Jane MacLaren	9,470	18.8	-15.8
	New Democratic	Carmela Sasso	1,839	3.7	-13.7
	National	Emanuele Danelon	661	1.3
	Libertarian	Daniel Hunt	363	0.7	-0.2
	Natural Law	Marilyn Pepper	353	0.7
	Independent	Antonio De Felice	105	0.2
	Marxist–Leninist	David Greig	104	0.2	+0.1
Total valid votes			50,380	100.0

References

1. "ELECTION 2019: Steveston-Richmond East riding profile and candidates". Richmond News. Archived from the original on 2019-10-22. Retrieved 2020-02-11.
2. "Bills Sponsored by Joe Peschisolido". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
3. "Joe Peschisolido Begins Political Comeback". Archived from the original on 2015-09-24.
4. "Peschisolido as Parliamentary Secretary". Archived from the original on 2015-03-27. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
5. "Peschisolido as Vice Chair". Archived from the original on 2015-03-27. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
6. "Joe Peschisolido Accepts Steveston—Richmond East Liberal Party Nomination for Fall 2015 Election". 2001-11-24. Archived from the original on 2016-09-27. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
7. "Justin Trudeau and the Liberals Have a Majority Government". 2015-10-20. Archived from the original on 2015-10-20. Retrieved 2015-10-20.
8. "Liberal Joe Peschisolido Elected Member of Parliament Representing Steveston-Richmond East". Archived from the original on 2015-10-21. Retrieved 2015-10-20.
9. Cooper, Sam (September 13, 2019). "Richmond MP aims to distance himself from 'money-laundering scheme' court case". Global News. Archived from the original on September 13, 2019. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
10. Cooper, Sam (2019-07-11). "Sources say RCMP opened file on Liberal MP whose firm facilitated real estate deals in B.C." Global News. Archived from the original on 2019-07-11. Retrieved 2019-07-13.
11. Wood, Graeme (June 18, 2019). "Richmond MP denies representing alleged Chinese cartel member". North Shore News. Archived from the original on July 13, 2019. Retrieved 2019-07-13.
12. Cooper, Sam (2019-06-17). "Liberal MP involved in second bare trust deal with client named in 'transnational money laundering' probe". Global News. Archived from the original on 2019-07-13. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
13. Cooper, Sam; Hill, Brian (2019-06-11). "Alleged gang kingpin may have used Liberal MP's law firm to launder money through B.C. condo deal". Global News. Archived from the original on 2019-07-14. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
14. Smith, Joanna (August 8, 2019). "Richmond MP Joe Peschisolido under investigation by federal ethics watchdog". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on August 10, 2019. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
15. "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Archived from the original on October 8, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
16. "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Archived from the original on October 22, 2019. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
17. "Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2017-04-23.
18. "Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Steveston—Richmond East, 30 September 2015". Archived from the original on 4 October 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
19. Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived 2015-08-15 at the Wayback Machine

External links

• Joe Peschisolido – Parliament of Canada biography