Sicilian Culture: The News & Views: Canadian Members of Parliment Accused of Anti-Italian Prejudice

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The News & Views
(February 27, 2001)
Canadian Members of Parliment Accused of Anti-Italian Prejudice
SUMMARY: Canadian resident Maria Sicurella "separated" from her "alleged" criminal husband Gaetano Amodeo, regaining her maiden name. Maria then requests application for "landed immigrant status", in her maiden name.
Later she requests information of status, (not special treatment), on her application to a district office of MP (Member of Parliament) Alfonso Gagliano.
Her "estranged" husband Amodeo had "alleged" ties to Agostino Cuntrera for whom MP Gagliano's accounting firm did work for, before Cuntrera was convicted of conspiracy. Gagliano cut ties with Cuntrera in 1993. Gagliano, nor members of his staff knew either of the Amodeos, ( and certainly not the name Sicurella).
Merely because a member of MP's Gagliano's district staff sent a "perfunctory" (routine/ mechanical) fax of inquiry of the status of Maria's application to the federal immigration department, without the knowledge of Gagliano, and without the staff's knowledge of Maria's connection to her "estranged" husband, and without requesting any "special treatment", (similar to 40,000 such requests per year by all MPs), Gagliano is accused of "preferential" treatment to the wife of an "alleged" Italian criminal, and his resignation is demanded.
Gagliano demands an apology from MP White, a retraction from "La Presse", and renounces Italian bias, slurs and stereotypes.
Prime Minister Chretian angrily denounces Gagliano's accusers and is appalled by continuing smear undertones to Italian-Canadians.

February 27, 2001 Toronto Star
MPs ACCUSED OF ANTI-ITALIAN PREJUDICE
Minister seeks apology for being linked to fugitive
Les Whittington
OTTAWA - Public Works Minister Alfonso Gagliano, saying he was the victim of anti-Italian prejudice, yesterday demanded apologies from those who accused him of helping a reputed fugitive's wife gain immigrant status.
In a Commons statement, Gagliano said he was ``wrongly and viciously'' accused of wrongdoing by opposition MPs and the subject of a newspaper article ``full of errors and insinuations.''
He demanded a retraction from La Presse newspaper of Montreal, which reported that Gagliano intervened with the federal immigration department last May on behalf of Maria Sicurella .
Gagliano said a staff member in his Montreal riding office sent a brief fax requesting information from the immigration department after Maria Sicurella visited the riding (district) office to ask about the status of her immigration file. "This note does not contain one single word of pressure to intervene in thedecision'' on her immigration status, the minister told MPs.
"The note is plain and clear. It is the same as more than 40,000 notes sent every year to Citizenship and Immigration Canada by all the MPs of this House." In a press conference, Gagliano said the accusations were a typical slur faced by prominent Italians.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
`I didn't say that it's racist, but every time something happens that has to do with an Italian, and the MP is Italian, we make the headlines.'
- Alfonso Gagliano, public works commissioner

I didn't say that it's racist, but every time something happens that has to do with an Italian, and the MP is Italian, we make the headlines,'' he said.
****************************************************
February 28, 2001 Toronto Star
PM CALLS ALLIANCE MP ANTI-IMMIGRANT
Angry Chretien hurls accusation in defence of MP Alfonso Gagliano
OTTAWA (CP) - The prime minister accused Alliance MP Randy White of being anti-immigrant Wednesday after he continued to hound the public worksminister about alleged links to a mob family...
''When I see these people trying to drag this person in the mud because he is an immigrant who came to Canada ... it is disgusting to me,'' Chretien said to loud cheers from Liberal benches.
The controversy erupted last week with reports suggesting Gagliano used his influence to obtain landed immigrant status for Maria Sicurella, (former and current) wife of Gaetano Amodeo - whose name appears on Interpol's list.
White said Wednesday that Amodeo is "affiliated" Cuntrera - which had done business with Gagliano's accounting firm before he was appointed to cabinet.
In 1994, RCMP told the prime minister Gagliano's firm was doing work for companies owned by Agostino Cuntrera, who (later) spent time in prison for conspiracy.
Though the accounting firm later dropped Cuntrera as a client, the controversy prevented Chretien from appointing Gagliano to cabinet for several months White ask Chretien why he appointed Gagliano ''over the concerns of the RCMP.'' Chretien said the allegations were unacceptable. ''The undertone of all of that is the fact that this gentleman is an immigrant who came from Italy. It is a smear on the people coming from that country.''
Earlier this week, Gagliano also charged that his Italian heritage was part of the reason for accusations against him.
If his name had been French, he said Monday, none of this would have happened.
''I didn't say that it's racist (but) ... every time something happens that has to do with an Italian, and the MP is Italian, we make the headlines.
''I thought we were beyond that in Canada in the year 2001 ... But still some people have that stereotype in their minds.''
The Bloc Quebecois originally suggested Gagliano should step aside and allow an investigation to resolve the issue....
On Monday, Gagliano told the Commons that an aide in his Montreal office wrote the letter.
His office had no idea who they were dealing with,( because she had applied with her maiden name) nor did staff apply pressure to Immigration to grant the woman landed immigrant status, he said, adding they were simply helping gather information as MPs regularly do for constituents.
The Bloc backed off, saying they accepted Gagliano's statement. They would not apologize, however....

February 26, 2001 Toronto Star
Gagliano demands apology over M----- link
OTTAWA (CP) - Public Works Minister Alfonso Gagliano denied Monday that he did anything wrong when his office sought information for the (former and current) wife of a reputed (criminal), but the Canadian Alliance says it's not going to let the matter die.
Gagliano stood up in the Commons to explain why his office wrote a letter (actually a "form" fax) to the Immigration Department last May seeking information on behalf of Maria Sicurella, who was seeking to become a landed immigrant.
Gagliano denied the allegations and called on his critics to apologize for implicating him in ''falsehoods.''
He also suggested he was being targeted because he is of Italian origin.
Gagliano said an aide in his Montreal riding office wrote and signed a letter to Immigration officials simply asking for information on the progress of Amodeo's file - not to sway decision-makers in any way.
''In this memo, there is not a shadow of pressure on the decision makers,'' he said. ''It is similar to some 40,000 such faxes sent to Citizenship and Immigration Canada by all members of this House.''
''In our work as members of Parliament, we cannot always verify in advance the backgrounds of people who want information.''
The Bloc Quebecois called Friday for Gagliano to step down pending an investigation into the matter.
Gagliano, who said he would not quit, added that if his name had been French, none of this would be happening.
''I didn't say that it's racist (but) . . . . every time something happens that has to do with an Italian, and the MP is Italian, we make the headlines.
''It's a reality we have been living so many years. I thought we were beyond that in Canada in the year 2001 . . . But still some people have that stereotype in their minds.''
In the Commons, Gagliano said neither he nor his office knew the Amodeos.
Still, the Canadian Alliance continued to lob questions Monday.
''We still have questions on this, we'll probably have more tomorrow,'' Alliance Leader Stockwell Day said outside the Commons.
Day added there's something fishy about the fact that Amodeo would make her request to Gagliano, as opposed to her own MP, Liberal Yvon Charbonneau.
Officials said it wasn't surprising that Amodeo would seek the help of Gagliano - a cabinet minister and the only one who is Italian - over Charbonneau.
The Bloc, who first raised the issue, appeared to be in retreat Monday.
Leader Gilles Duceppe said he accepts Gagliano's explanation ''up to now'' because he has no facts to contradict it. But there were no apologies forthcoming.
Both Duceppe and Day said there was nothing bigoted about the allegations.

The Ottawa Citizen Online
www.ottawacitizen.com
Saturday 24, February 2001
GAGLIANO BESIEGED OVER LETTER
That Turns Out To Be A "Form" Fax
Public Works minister Alfonso Gagliano denies he helped "estranged" wife of fugitive to emigrate; Opposition demands cabinet resignation.
Philip Authier, Citizen Special
Mr. Gagliano and the Liberal government denied that Mr. Gagliano intervened, directly or indirectly, in the case of Maria Sicurella...
A front-page report in yesterday's La Presse said Mr. Gagliano wrote a letter dated May 25 to Immigration Canada inquiring on the progress of Ms. Sicurella's request for landed immigrant status. The newspaper said it's not clear whether Mr. Gagliano's actions helped the case along, but she is now in Canada.
Yesterday, Mr. Gagliano's answer was a swift denial, but that didn't stop the opposition in the House of Commons -- Real Menard for the Bloc Quebecois and Diane Ablonczy for the Canadian Alliance -- from attacking.
Mr. Gagliano was not in the House -- his office said later he was attending a family function and a funeral -- leaving it up to Deputy Prime Minister and House leader Herb Gray.
Mr. Gray read a statement issued by Mr. Gagliano earlier in which the minister denies intervening "directly or indirectly," in the case, but confirming Ms. Sicurella had requested "clarifications" on her file from the minister's St.-Leonard-St.-Michel riding office staff.
"She asked for clarifications of Mr. Gagliano's staff, which then conducted the normal administrative followup in order to provide answers to Mrs. Sicurella," the statement said.
"It consists of a normal administrative followup which in no way constitutes an intervention in the file."...
During the 1970s, a company that Mr. Gagliano ran before he entered politics did accounting for a company owned by Augustino Cuntrera, later convicted of conspiracy.
Mr. Gagliano's accounting firm maintained the convicted criminal as a client up until 1993. A year later the RCMP cleared Mr. Gagliano, who was then the Liberal whip, of any wrongdoing.
In the House yesterday, Mr. Gray demanded Mr. Menard withdraw the remarks. Later, Mr. Gray told reporters that contrary to the newspaper's report, it was not a personal letter from Mr. Gagliano but a fax letter asking for information on the file sent by Mr. Gagliano's staff to Immigration Canada.
"According to my information, there is no letter," Mr. Gray said, adding Mr. Gagliano never saw or signed the fax either.
He insisted there's a difference between the fax sent by his staff and a letter signed by a minister.
"According to my information, neither Mr. Gagliano or his office was supporting the application," Mr. Gray said. "An inquiry is sent as to its status. That is not supporting the application."...
Mr. Gray said all MPs have people coming to their offices asking for information on requests that they make.
"It's impossible for the MPs or their staffs to do security checks in advance on all the people who come or to know exactly who are the people coming to make inquiries. I don't concede it was the wrong thing to do because as far as I'm aware, it's the same thing that's done by members of all parties." ...
"It's normal business," said Mr. Gagliano's press aide Eric Tetrault, referring to Ms. Sicurella's request for information. "She was not asking for intervention to speed things along. She was asking where her file's at."
Mr. Tetrault insisted ...the whole file was handled by one of his employees.
Mr. Tetrault argued that the confidentiality clauses in the Immigration Act limit the kinds of inquiries MPs are allowed to make on individuals, and in this case Ms. Sicurella was not using her husband's name....
"We had no way of knowing she was the wife of Amodeo said Mr. Tetrault.
Mr. Tetrault described the story in La Presse as "full of holes," confirming Mr. Gagliano is seriously thinking of suing the newspaper....

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