About Gino ROSATI

Gino Rosati was born in a small town called Paglieta in the Abruzzo Region of Italy. After his formal education, and spending some time in the city of Milan, he went to Germany, where he became fluent in the German language. In his sense of adventure, he explored other opportunities, and he applied, and was quickly approved by the Canadian embassy to immigrate to Canada in 1967. He chose to travel with a luxury liner – the Raffaello – to experience the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean.
Unlike most Italian immigrants who arrived at Pier 21 in Halifax, Gino landed in New York on Ellis Island. With no family or knowledge of the English language, Gino made his way directly to Toronto. He did temporary jobs and eventually decided to attend a full-time English language course, taking six months, allowing him to better integrate in Canadian society. He then obtained a license and worked as a driving school instructor for a few years.

Gino married and started a family; he now has three children and six grandchildren who he loves dearly.

Determined to better himself and support his family, Gino changed career and based on his knowledge and financial training and courses taken, he was employed by a prominent finance company where he gained additional critical experience; Gino had found a calling. His success in the finance company lead to Gino being recruited by the Royal Bank of Canada with an offer to be a member of its team. With a willingness to learn the finance business, and a natural charisma perfectly suited to customer facing roles, Gino was soon promoted to Branch Manager. He was eventually transferred to manage the Woodbridge branch.
In this position of trust, he tripled the customer base of his branch in Woodbridge.

Everyone remembers the guy who arranged their first loan and signed off on their first mortgage: following years of loyalty, Gino’s customers began to confide in him on personal matters and Gino established himself as a pillar in the local community.  
In addition, Gino was also very involved in community activities and various local organisations, he always continued with additional banking related studies and achieved the Fellowship of the Institute of Canadian Bankers.
 
Gino was elected as a local school board trustee in 1982 and in his six years with the board, used his financial expertise to steer the school board to greater efficiencies.
In 1988, Gino‘s success as a trustee and his desire to better his community inspired him to run for political office and shortly after Gino was elected as Vaughan’s Ward Two Councillor.

In his new role as a Councillor, Gino was well prepared due to his financial and management experience. He questioned the status quo and was able to achieve greater efficiencies as part of the City’s overall strategic policies.
In 1989, Gino started exploring the possibilities for a hospital in the City of Vaughan. Years later, all wheels were in motion with great community participation. The City of Vaughan contributed $80 million toward the acquisition of land with taxpayers money borrowed internally from reserve funds – now all paid back and no longer part of the property tax bill. Gino was part in ensuring that the process was in keeping with complex and lengthy provincial guidelines towards the necessary provincial approval and financing.
Now the Cortellucci Vaughan hospital is fully functional and the most modern, hi-tech primary health facility in the Province.

Gino is keen to be recognised as a member of the larger council team, with decisions made after thorough discourse. But Gino is also proud to have stood up against what he sees as the wrong thing to do for the community; voting down the proposal for a casino in Vaughan as an example.
 
Gino’s expertise on Zoning and Planning contributes to the success of City Planning and Infrastructure, particularly in the lengthy and ongoing process of the new Official Plans.

Gino is proud of his contributions towards developing Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital, addressing Vaughan’s traffic congestion, participating in the creation of Vaughan’s Metropolitan Centre and improving services at the York Region Transit (YRT). Gino is also proud of his contribution to maintaining low property taxes for Vaughan citizens, consistently pushing back on annual budget proposals for re-examination and cost reductions, while maintaining high levels of service delivery for the tax payer.
 
Gino is to committed to working with the community to achieve a better quality of life for all residents of Vaughan. He is presently Chair of the York Region Health and Social Services Committee, and Tourism Vaughan Corporation. He is a member of York Regional Housing Corporation and the Official Plan Review Committee for the City of Vaughan.

Gino has received many acclamations and honorary certificates of appreciation for his volunteer work in the community, most recently from Crafting for a Cure charitable organisation. 
 
Many people remember Gino Rosati as the local Bank Manager who gained the trust of his customers. His philosophy is to “Put things into perspective and do what you think is right by taking everything into consideration. But above all, treat people with kindness and respect.”

Councillor Gino Rosati is truly a political pioneer and champion of the City of Vaughan, who has gained the trust of the people. A great indicator of his future endeavors can be seen in his past accomplishments. We look forward to many more years of his unshakable dedication to Vaughan.