Pietro Calendino

Pietro Calendino is a Canadian provincial and municipal politician currently serving as a School Trustee in Burnaby, British Columbia.

Calendino was born in Calabria, Italy but emigrated to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in 1959. He received an Honours B.A. and a M.A. (Languages) from the University of British Columbia. He received a teaching certificate from Simon Fraser University and has taught in secondary schools in Burnaby and Delta.

He helped found the BC Heritage Languages Association. He has served as president of the BC Association of Teachers of Modern Languages, director of the Burnaby Multicultural Society and vice-president of the National Congress of Italian Canadians.

Calendino was elected as a Burnaby School Trustee in 1987, and re-elected in 1990 and 1993. While on the school board he established language classes in Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Spanish and Punjabi. He also established a zero tolerance policy towards violence and bullying in schools which was later adopted province-wide. He served as School Board Chair in 1993 and 1994.

In the 1996 B.C. general election he was elected to the Provincial Legislature as a New Democratic Party of British Columbia candidate in the Burnaby North riding. In July 1999 ,he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Small Business, Tourism and Culture. He was best known for establishing funds for the Burnaby School District's Children's Dental Clinic, the Heights Fountain Square project and the Elizabeth Fry Society for women in need.

In the 2001 B.C. general election, Calendino ran for re-election in the riding of Burnaby North but lost to Richard T. Lee, the BC Liberal candidate. Calendino placed second in a field of four candidate with 5,992 votes (29.45% of total valid votes).

In 2002, he was elected to the Burnaby City Council as a member of the Burnaby Citizens' Association. On council he strongly supported the Reduction of Cosmetic Pesticides Policy and opposed Richmond's acquisition of the Olympic Oval and the construction of Canada Line SkyTrain. He also chaired the Simon Fraser Liaison Committee and was involved with the Environment Committee and the Community Policing Committee.

In the 2005 B.C. general election Calendino ran as the NDP candidate in the Burnaby North riding. He narrowly lost to Richard T. Lee, the BC Liberal candidate. Calendino placed second in a field of four candidate with 10,356 votes (45.31%% of total valid votes).

Calendino was elected to the Burnaby City Council as part of the Burnaby Citizens' Association slate during the 2005 election. He is a Director of the GVRD Labour Relations Bureau and a member of the GVRD Parks Committee. He chairs the Executive Committee of Council and the Community Policing Committee. He is also Vice Chair of the Environment Committee.

Calendino is championing the "Giro di Burnaby", a professional bicycle race coming to Burnaby on July 14th and every July after that.

External links

* [http://www.legis.gov.bc.ca/mla/36thparl/Calendino.htm 36th Parliament Members]
* [http://www.burnabycitizens.ca/council/calendino.html Burnaby Citizens' Association]