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Member of the Subcommittee on Review of Parliament’s involvement with associations and recognized Interparliamentary groups Deputy House leader of the New Democratic Party

Lindsay Mathyssen

  • Member of Parliament
  • Member of the Subcommittee on Review of Parliament’s involvement with associations and recognized Interparliamentary groups Deputy House leader of the New Democratic Party
  • NDP
  • London—Fanshawe
  • Ontario
  • Voting Attendance: 66%
  • Expenses Last Quarter: $131,911.16

  • Government Page
Context: House Hansard - 275 - Feb/5/24
Ms. Lindsay Mathyssen (London—Fanshawe, NDP)
  • Feb/5/24 6:25:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, across the country, close to 600 PSAC workers are on strike. The Non-Public Funds workers have actually been on strike for 22 days. They are the too often unrecognized figures, the workers within our defence community. The employees of the Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services serve those who serve. They staff our Canex stores, feed our soldiers and support them with financial services and countless other essential supports. At a time of unprecedented cost of living increases facing military families, we cannot forget that 40% of CFMWS workers are military family members. Those military family members have faced unnecessary burdens from the Liberal government. They are often underpaid and under-employed. They have dipped into their own pockets so many times to support our women and men in uniform, and they are proud to do so. They are proud to do this work. Many are facing a rent spike this year to on-base housing. When military family members join the workforce, they are in a precarious position. Relocation and, at times, remote postings severely limit their employment opportunities. They need to be protected from employers that seek to take advantage of them. However, that is not what they get from the Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services. These workers are paid drastically less than their public servant counterparts. They are not being offered a national pay grid. They face serious workplace safety concerns as well. At the bargaining table, they are not asking for much: basic protections, a national pay grid and recognition of their essential role in our national defence. I joined these workers on the picket line last week, and I heard from members that are struggling to make ends meet. When I asked the Minister of Defence about the strike last week, he said, “We support a resolution of this labour dispute at the table, and we will continue to support both sides coming back to the table.” It is this minister’s department that has left the bargaining table and refused to return. Shortly after I was at the picket line, the employer served a trespassing notice to striking workers on the line. During the winter months, the employer has now demanded that workers remove the trailer they have on site by tomorrow. This trailer is being used for its washroom facilities and for workers to go back and get warm. It is February. It is cold out. This trailer helps to keep them safe. As an employer, the government should be aware of and concerned about that. Instead, the employer has said that, if they do not get rid of the trailer by tomorrow, the government would get rid of it at the workers' expense. These workers are tired of the minister’s lack of awareness of not only their issues, but also their basic function under his mandate. When workers wrote to their local Liberal MPs asking for support, they were told that the minister does not believe they are even within his mandate. The minister cannot plead ignorance here much longer. Long before this strike, I told the minister, over and over again, about the plight of the Non-Public Funds workers. When he was first nominated to this post, I told him about their concerns. I outlined them for him. When he and his department officials appeared before the Standing Committee on National Defence, I repeatedly told them about the concerns facing the Non-Public Funds workers. I want to give the government one more opportunity here. Will it tell the employer to get back to the table, bargain in good faith and support the workers who serve those who serve?
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Context: House Hansard - 98 - Sep/20/22
Ms. Lindsay Mathyssen (London—Fanshawe, NDP)
  • Sep/20/22 4:09:05 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-22 
Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague across the way for what she has said and for fighting for people living with disabilities. It is so incredibly important. We have heard in the House about the rising inflation and how it is hitting those living with disabilities harder. Uniquely, some provincial members of Parliament in our province of Ontario have put themselves on what they call a “welfare budget”. They are trying to live on what people who are in the Ontario disabilities program or Ontario Works receive. I think they are trying to live on $47.60 for groceries each week to show how incredibly important it is for them to receive increases. Now, the provincial government has only given 5% and those members are calling for that to be doubled. I wonder if the member supports initiatives like that as she has been so positive about ensuring that people living with disabilities have the income they need to survive.
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