Profile

Councillor Tony Carella has been a resident of Ward 2 for nearly 30 years, and previously served as its Councillor from 1994 to 1997 and 2003 to 2010.

A graduate in Honours Modern History from St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto, his career path has lead from high school teaching; through the corporate world - with Loblaws Limited; the provincial public service - as a special assistant to the Honourable Gregory Sorbara; the operation of his own small business - as writer, editor, and publisher of VitaSana/The Family Health Magazine; and back to teaching, until his re-entry into the local political scene.

Councillor Carella is married to the former Franca Damiani di Vergada. They have five children and eleven grandchildren.

In 2008, Councillor Carella was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of the Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce, founded over 200 years ago, in London, England.

The citation issued by the nominator, Dr. Kevin McCormick, president of Huntington University in Sudbury, Ontario, listed six reasons for his honour:

- advocacy of the City of Vaughan's Declaration of Citizens' Rights and Responsibilities, a first for a Canadian city of comparable or greater size, intended to foster that sense of interconnectedness which is the very root of civic life at all levels.

- promotion of the Civic Hero Award, to honour those who exemplify civic responsibility at the local level.

- fostering of civic engagement through Vaughan Values, of which he is a co-founder, to honour the work of local volunteers, emerging student leaders, and non-profit agencies and organization whose volunteers provide a range of services to the community.

- promotion of an appreciation of civic history and a sense of civic "pride of place" through the celebration of the quasquicentennial of the Village of Woodbridge in 2007.

- leadership in creation of the Task Force on Democratic Participation and Renewal, with the aim of increasing civic engagement at its most fundamental point: the voting booth.

- leadership in organizing a series of three scholarly conferences, under the auspices of the Mariano Elia Chair in Italian Canadian Studies at York University, to explore in depth the post-immigrant experience of Italian Canadians and other ethno cultural groups in Vaughan.

Vaughan's Declaration of Citizens' Rights and Responsibilities were also written by Councillor Carella based on Vaughan Vision 2007, and adopted by the Council of the City of Vaughan on February 28, 2005. Councillor Carella also has a long record of community service demonstrated by his active participation in a wide variety of community groups. Some of the highlights of that service include:

• President, National Congress of Italian Canadians - Toronto District
• President, Community Living York South
  
• Chair, Vaughan Community Health Centre
• Chair, Vaughan Toursim Advisory Committee
• Vice President, National Congress of Italian Canadians - Ontario Region
• Vice Chair, York Region District Health Council
• Vice Chair, Leonardo da Vinci Academy of Arts and Sciences
• Founding Director, The Vitanova Foundation
• Director, Social Planning Council of Metropolitan Toronto
• Director, Heritage Vaughan
• Director, Vaughan Public Libraries
• Member, York Region Police-Community Liaison Committee
• Member, Humber Watershed Task Force
• Member, North Woodbridge Community Association
• Member, PSA Subcommittee, Ethno-Cultural Alcohol-Related Program Development Committee, Addiction Research Foundation
• Member, United Way of Greater Toronto Italian Community Committee
• Volunteer, Sharelife

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