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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: 65%
Expenses Last Quarter: $131,911.16

Government Page

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?

618 words

Context: House Hansard - 256 - Nov/27/23

Ms. Lindsay Mathyssen

Nov/27/23 6:49:44 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, ultimately, the men and women in uniform are a workforce that we rely upon with everything that we have, and they put themselves in the line of danger. They are there when people need them, domestically and internationally. We need to ensure that they are safe. We need to ensure that they have the best equipment. We need to ensure that they have the safest workplaces. That includes a lot of the things that were mentioned in the report but that I mention again, which people within the Arctic need as well. They need housing, health care and safe supports, and they need to know that the workplace they are going into is not one of disrespect. There is a lot going on that the government needs to invest in. Again, it comes back to people. It always comes back to people.

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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