Petrari, D’Anello, Pettas and El-Helou will all be on the ballot on Sept. 20
While unveiling a slate of candidates running for the Laval region’s federal seats in the Sept. 20 general election, a senior official with the Conservative Party noted that the four chosen runners are entrepreneurs, business managers and professionals who are truly representative because of their dedicated community involvement in Laval.
Pledging to serve Laval
“I can tell you that from the moment they are elected as representatives in the Parliament of Canada, the team that is here today will take the interests of Laval to Ottawa, and not the interests of Ottawa and the Liberal Party to Laval,” said Senator Leo Housakos, who has been a member of the Senate since being appointed 13 years ago by former Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
A life-long Conservative, Housakos said he could remember back in the 1980s when the Conservatives succeeded in scoring a major breakthrough in Laval by electing Conservative MPs over a span of eight years.
“And when we did it in 1984-88, it was the same type of individuals: people connected to the community, professionals, business people and people who were doing politics for the right reasons,” added Housakos.
Petrari in Marc-Aurèle-Fortin
Sarah Petrari, an administrator for a biopharmaceutical company, is running for the party in the riding of Marc-Aurèle-Fortin.
The eldest of five children, she immigrated to Canada at the age of twelve. She was born in Southern California of a Mexican migrant family. She spent the vast majority of her youth in the Laurentians north of Laval, where she quickly learned French, a language she says she has grown to deeply cherish and love.
“The Conservative Party of Canada is the only choice before us that would bring common sense back to Ottawa and secure Canada’s future in these still very uncertain times,” she said. “I am offering you my candidacy to participate in a recovery of our country on all levels. Erin O’Toole has my all my respect.”
D’Anello in Alfred-Pellan
Angiolino D’Anello is running in the riding of Alfred-Pellan. According to some biographical notes furnished by the Conservative Party, D’Anello has over 40 years worth of established skills in entrepreneurship and corporate business, with a diverse background in several fields and industries.
He holds two degrees from Concordia University, a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and legal studies, and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Community Politics and the Law. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus and president of Club Richelieu Bourassa/Club Bourassa.
He said he has actively participated in several political campaigns at all three levels of government as an adviser, among other roles. However, he said he withdrew his support from the federal Liberals, “deceived by the incompetence and the unacceptable track record of the Trudeau government,” D’Anello’s biography states.
Pettas in Laval-Les Îles
Spyridonas Pettas is running in Laval-Les Îles. With 30 years experience in management and leadership of private and publicly held enterprises, he is currently president of a small enterprise, ARCA Logistics Solutions Inc., a privately held armoured car and security guard company.
More recently, he says he has been working closely with Batshaw Youth and Family Centres, the provincial government-funded social services organization in Montreal that is devoted to the welfare of children and their families.
“I came to the decision to run for office with the Conservative Party of Canada after a great deal of contemplation,” he said, while adding that running was his ambition for many years and he hoped, if elected, to help improve Canadians’ livelihoods, their health, women’s rights, freedom of expression, First Nations rights, veterans who risked their lives for freedom, real environmental solutions and taxpayers’ rights.
El-Helou in Vimy
Rima El-Helou is running in Laval’s Vimy riding. With a Master’s of Business Administration from ESCP-EAP in Paris, as well as degrees in public health, midwifery and marketing, she has a diverse professional background and a wealth of work experience.
‘The team that is here today will take the interests of Laval to Ottawa, and not the interests of Ottawa and the Liberal Party to Laval’
With regards to the 2021 federal election campaign, she feels especially strongly about issues involving provincial rights and jurisdictions and the potential decentralization of power from Ottawa to the Quebec government, including a better deal for the management of medicare in the province.
“The contract with all Quebecers addresses many of the wishes of the population with respect to their federal government: granting more power to Quebec and the means to finance its health system,” she said in a statement issued by the Conservative Party.
