Matthew Green

[Business of Supply, October 29th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, we heard the history of the October crisis in its historical context and heard members from the government's side talk about how the Charter of Rights and Freedoms was implemented since then. This is also a government that supported the draconian Bill C-51, which of course defined economic disruption as a form of domestic terrorism. This extended government overreach to indigenous communities seeking their inherent sovereign treaty rights, and to environmentalists and trade unionists.

What does the party that in fact named the person responsible for G20 as the Minister of Public Safety have to say for its continued support on Bill C-51, which has resulted in situations such as lethal over-watch on the Wet'suwet'en territory and rubber bullets being fired at Haudenosaunee peaceful land defenders today?

[Criminal Code, October 28th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciated the hon. member bringing up the nuances, and I particularly appreciated his calling out the potentials for ableism in the agency of patients.

One of the challenges created by the current medical assistance in dying legislation is a requirement for final consent at the time the assistance is rendered. This forces those who have already been assessed and approved for medical assistance in dying to make a cruel choice. When faced with a possible loss of competence that would make them unable to give consent, they are forced to either go earlier, or risk not being able to receive the assistance they need to avoid living with intolerable suffering.

Audrey Parker campaigned to make Canadians aware of this, and Bill C-7 would fix this by creating a waiver of final consent. Does the hon. Conservative member support Audrey's amendment to help those facing the end of life avoid this cruel choice?

[Bills of Exchange Act, October 23rd, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I want to rise and echo the deep honour and privilege of working with the hon. member. We have had many conversations around dismantling white supremacy and decolonizing our spaces, including this one in the House of Commons.

We have heard arguments against the expedited passage of the bill, having economic arguments about people taking a day off. In his remarks, the member referenced the solemn nature of Remembrance Day.

Recognizing the solemn nature of Remembrance Day and the need for our country to recognize the atrocities of war, what would the member's opinion be on taking this day as a solemn reflection of the atrocities of the colonial genocide of indigenous people across these territories?

[Indigenous Affairs, October 23rd, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, that is not good enough. This week an Ontario court sided with private developers and applied a permanent injunction against the Haudenosaunee people on their own traditional territory at 1492 Land Back Lane. Last night, the OPP opened fire on land defenders with rubber bullets, setting the stage for a sharp escalation in violence there. This conflict is not new. It is the direct result of the government's refusal to negotiate these land claims in good faith, resulting in this violence. When will the government finally get back to the table with the Haudenosaunee Confederacy council and allow these claims to be peacefully settled?

[Business of Supply, October 22nd, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I have had the honour of getting to know the hon. member who just spoke. I know him to be a very learned health practitioner with national leadership experience.

He talked about some of the red flags. Today, we have heard about the potential for Liberal self-dealing related to the $200 million for defibrillators. In September, when Dr. Gary Kobinger, who worked for the Winnipeg team that developed the successful Ebola vaccine, resigned from the federal government's COVID-19 vaccine task force, he was pleading for more transparency.

Does the hon. member agree with Dr. Kobinger that the task force's potential for conflicts of interest should be fully disclosed, and that the deliberations and advice should be available to the entire Canadian public?

[Business of Supply, October 22nd, 2020]

Madam Speaker, just to recap, the hon. member did a phenomenal job of presenting the reasons why she could not support the motion from her perspective. Now I will share through mine some of the problems that are still outstanding with her rationale.

At the outset of COVID, there was a drastic mishandling of the national emergency stockpile. We asked the Minister of Public Services and Procurement, who could have been responsible, if it was her responsibility. She said, no, it was the Minister of Health. Then we asked the Minister of Health who, of course, would not take responsibility for the fact that the government threw out millions of critical PPE on the eve of a pandemic and still has not adequately accounted for that decision.

Does the member opposite not believe that the government has a role and a responsibility to ensure that critical personal protective equipment is provided to Canadians in a way that will help offset what could perhaps be a third wave coming in the future?

[Criminal Code, October 21st, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, we have heard today from our Conservative friends down the way stories of anguish, conversations and statements around the sanctity of life and safeguards. It is clear to me that this is not a critique particularly of MAID, but, rather, the condemnation of capitalism.

What does the member have to say about the privatization of mental health, the criminalization of addictions and the commodification of every basic necessity of life, to the point where almost complete and utter despair has caused people to be sentenced to live in deep poverty and have to, at the end of life, under coercion perhaps, contemplate this last and drastic step?

[Criminal Code, October 21st, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, the minister has just reminded us that everyone ought to have equal and inherent rights, but we know that throughout this pandemic the government has refused to prioritize the pursuit of a very equal life for people with disabilities.

I want to bring the voice of one of my constituents, Sarah Jama, who is part of a disability justice network, to ensure that her and their voices are heard. She states, “It is evident through our history of forced sterilization and institutionalization that the current crisis of deaths in long-term care homes and continued legislated poverty across this country that with the changes in the requirement for foreseeable death to MAID, what measures will our government put in place to adequately ensure that people with disabilities will not experience systemic or implicit coercion regarding their access to MAID and will this government finally prioritize the life of people with disabilities in this country as much as it has thoughtfully prioritized their access to death?”

[Criminal Code, October 21st, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I want to acknowledge the words of the hon. member. I have known him to be a compassionate man.

He talked about people with disabilities living with dignity, yet, as it relates to the COVID situation, with so many people living with disabilities being left out of recovery packages and support, we are hearing that they are considering accessing MAID simply because they do not have the money to survive.

What does the member have to say about programs that have excluded people living with disabilities to the point where they are actually considering accessing this end-of-life scenario?

[Petitions, October 9th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, thirdly, and critically important, is a petition championed by Jay Woodruff to immediately expand the eligibility for CERB to include those who were previously deemed ineligible due to poverty, disability or other circumstances that prevented them from meeting the minimum earnings required to qualify for CERB; that payments be backdated, to March 1, 2020; and that equal support continue to be provided for Canadians as outlined above for the duration of CERB, as well as continuing to provide support indefinitely through a guaranteed basic income, with the monthly rate increased annually to reflect the increases in the cost of living.