Election campaigns for the upcoming 2020 Ontario Professional Fire Firefighter Assoc. president are Kevin White (Barrie Fire) and Camine Santoro (Oakville Fire). Both candidates are encouraging all members to contact them for any questions and concerns regarding their candidacy platform.
Carmen Santoro who is he and what is he?
Over the last 4 years our OPFFA presidential candidate has been stricken with multiple serve health issues. When Santoro stepped down as President of the OPFFA in June of 2016 amidst the OPFFA lawsuit he initiated against Paul Atkinson and Colin Grieve he notified members he had some personal issues to deal with. Carmen steps down and leaves Rob Hyndman to deal with the lawsuit.
After stepping down, our Presidential Candidate Carmen Santoro says that he has been diagnosed with stage 3 back cancer and he is unable do the job anymore. As well unable to work as a Fire Captain in Oakville. Miraculously Carmen Santoro has a complete recovery with no treatments, no Chemotherapy or Radiation and is able to run for President in his local Oakville a position he still holds today. Once Carmen returns from his serious Cancer scare he still remains off work using Oakville Local Union days so he doesn’t have to work as a firefighter. While suffering with Stage 3 Cancer, Santoro is able to regularly play in golf tournaments and still able to do work as the OPFFA/IAFF interest ADVOCATE, sacrificing his personal health to continue doing Advocate work for cash.
After the bout of Stage 3 Back Cancer in 2017 Carmen Santoro is on WSIB stricken with severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Following suit OPFFA Present President ROB HYNDMAN and past friend and former Hamilton Local Secretary Ron Summers. Santoro had his good friend and past Liberal Minister of Labour Kevin Flynn assist in getting his WSIB claim for PTSD. During time off on WSIB from the Town of Oakville, Santoro continues to represent his Local as Union president doing their contract arbitration. Now off collecting WSIB for PTSD, his wage as Oakville Local President and wage as the negotiating chair for the Oakville Local. Once the arbitration is finished he charges his Local an additional $10,000.00 for his arbitration work.
While off on WSIB and with his health problems ,Carmen continues as President in Oakville. Stricken with PTSD, now Santoro collects 2 1/2 years of WSIB benefits. But once his Liberal Party gets defeated in the 2019 election and his close friend Minister of Labour Kevin Flynn gets decimated in the election, Santoro is called back on Modified work in October 2019 since his Liberal relationship is gone. Although Carmen Santoro is a Liberal supporter through and through; as a Presidential Candidate you cannot be a one party leader. Parties at Queens Park know exactly where his allegiances are. A Zebra doesn’t change its stripes so chances of making any advances at Queens Park are slim now.
Carmen then returned to Modified work for 6 weeks and has been off, and on sick leave since December 2019 to present.
Given all these Health issues Stage 3 Back Cancer, Severe PTSD and now another undetermined medical issue is this the man we want as President of the OPFFA for the next 2 years? We have just witnessed the last 4 years of our Addicted and PTSD Stricken President Ron Hyndman following advice from Carmen, accomplishing zero; other than bankrupting the Association and administering the sale of the Burlington Office which was under sold by a $1,000.00.00 dollars and a $50.00 cost per month per member to fund a lawsuit against 2 firefighters.
Prior to Santoro leaving the OPFFA his own local conducted a internal audit of him and his past Oakville Executive Board the audit showed there was some significant discrepancy with Carmen Santoro, Andrew Lee, Paul Evan, Brent Eres union salaries and how they were not reporting the proper taxes as directed by the members.
2007 /2008 the above Oakville Executive Board was directed to pay income tax on their union earnings, Executive Board led by Santoro, Lee, Evans. Earnings were grossed to offset the tax on their union earnings. In 2014 the new Oakville Executive Board took over it and found that Santoro and his executive board hadn’t done this; they took the increase of grossed up tax monies and kept the money without telling the members. When Santoro was confronted with this, his course of action was to accuse the new Oakville executive board of a personal vendetta against him and his past executive board and that they paid the appropriate taxes. Santoro and his band of thieves were simply asked to produce their personal income tax for certain years to support them all paid taxes. None of these past executive board members produced their income tax returns.
With the Oakville Association feeling exposed to tax penalties the Association contacted Canada Revenue Agency and informed them of what had transpired over the years with the past Executive board it was determined by CRA that there were back taxes and penalties owed by the Association and Santoro and his group.
At this point the new Oakville executive board went through the Oakville and IAFF constitution and laid charges against Santoro, Lee for their questionable financial record keeping for the Oakville Professional Firefighters Association. Santoro and his crew decide instead of facing the facts that they may have made an error in judgement they go on a total smear campaign against the executive board in Oakville. Carmen Santoro then sequesters 13th District VP Fred LeBlanc to help him so he can get the support of the IAFF to smother and suffocate the allegations against Santoro and his actions. Santoro and LeBlanc now start threatening the Oakville executive board with votes of non confidence and other allegations and this is when he continues to bully, threaten, intimidate and lie to spin his version of events. Santoro gets the IAFF and 13th District VP Fred Leblanc to lay charges against the Oakville executive board then tries to solicit other OPFFA members to sit on the disciplinary board against the Oakville executive. However other members of other OPFFA Locals did not want to support Carmen Santoro and Fred Leblanc’s smearing, getting them kicked out of the IAFF. Once Carmen and Fred fail to meet the deadline to get it put together, Carmen announces he has chosen to withdraw charges as he wants to go in a more positive direction.
Once he is President again he targets certain members of his Association which results in harassment allegations by Carmen the bullying against him. Carmen Santoro has a very long history of Harassment and bullying in his own local.
In 2015 as President of the OPFFA he was starting to have some internal problems with some of the locals in the Province, one is the home local of our Present President Rob Hyndman who were discussing disaffiliating from the OPFFA. Once the carrot was dangled in front of then Sudbury President Hyndman to in turn not disaffiliate and Carmen Santoro will step down in 2016 so Hyndman can then become President. Quid Pro Quo. When Hamilton Local Fire told Santoro and his executive board that his lack of leadership and with no direction for the Association going forward; Hamilton had no reason for them to stay with OPFFA. In true bully fashion he decided to go after Colin Grieve because he was a Hamilton member. And in a Narcissistic behaviour he announces this at the Spring Convention with huge ban fare and with weeks to go has President before he stepped away because of his Stage 3 Back cancer.
1. Grandiose sense of self -importance
2. Lives in a fantasy world that supports their delusion of grandeur
3. Sense of entitlement
4. Exploits others without guilt or shame
5. Frequently demeans, intimidates, bullies or belittles others.