Matthew Green

[Committees of the House, October 24th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, the member did a fantastic job, not just on the file but in her intervention, outlining the ways in which ethical breaches in governance can go from organizations cutting corners to perhaps trying to find a competitive advantage, to cheating. We have discovered some of the most violent and pernicious aspects, the underbelly, of the dark side of sport.

Can the hon. member please expand upon why having a clear, strong and accountable ethical framework for sports in Canada will be essential to ensuring that we do not repeat some of these disgusting acts of violence against our athletes?

[Dyslexia, October 22nd, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize October as Dyslexia Awareness Month, in line with Dyslexia Canada's campaign “Mark it Read”. This year's theme is “Breaking the Silence”, shedding light on the 10% to 20% of Canadians living with this often overlooked learning disability.

Dyslexia affects reading, writing and spelling, but with early identification and the right support, its impact can be reduced and individuals can thrive. As a nation, we must commit to raising awareness and supporting those with dyslexia by lighting up our buildings and monuments in red this October. Together, let us break the silence and advocate for the needs of children and adults with dyslexia across Canada.

[Petitions, October 21st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, my second petition, with 237 signatures, highlights the urgent need to address Canada's housing crisis. Housing is a fundamental human right, yet many are unable to afford a safe place to live.

Since 2018, the number of unsheltered individuals has tripled in areas such as my riding of Hamilton Centre and the Waterloo region, where the petition's sponsor is from. This is driven by large corporate investors in real estate income trusts buying up all the affordable housing and raising rents. The petitioners recognize there have been decades of underinvestments, which has only worsened the shortage of affordable rentals.

The petition calls on the federal government to invest in non-profit housing, regulate REITs and remove their tax exemptions. The government needs to establish national rent control and introduce a homebuyers' bill of rights to make home ownership more accessible.

[Petitions, October 21st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I proudly rise this afternoon to present petition e-4974, initiated by Emily Johnson and signed by over 17,000 Canadians, which highlights the growing concern about exploitative practices of large food cartels such as Loblaw, which are clearly out of control. It underscores the monopolistic behaviour that allows these corporations to dictate prices and terms, pushing essential goods beyond the reach of many, especially low- and middle-income families.

This petition calls on Parliament to strengthen antitrust laws; investigate unfair pricing strategies, including price-fixing and shrinkflation; support smaller vendors; and explore price controls to prevent price gouging on essential food items. It also mandates that Loblaw and Walmart sign the grocery code of conduct. The goal is to ensure fair competition and protect consumers from price gouging on the basic food items needed to survive.

[Privilege, October 21st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, we are now three weeks into this debate, and we still have Conservative members being purposefully obtuse about what is actually before us. They wrote the motion to go to committee, but they are pretending that, somehow, everybody else is obstructing.

They talk about Liberal insiders. Will the hon. member finally be clear with Canadians and note that, on March 24, 2022, the same person in question, Annette Verschuren, donated to the Conservative Party as well? In fact, they have a long history of donating to the Conservative Party.

Will they come clean and just admit that Liberal, Tory, same old story?

[Privilege, October 21st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I have a straightforward question. For the last three weeks, the Conservatives have framed the situation as being solely a partisan issue from a Liberal insider who, I agree, received favourable treatment and self-dealings and acted in a corrupt way.

However, would the hon. member care to comment on the fact that the same person in question, Annette Verschuren, donated to the Conservative Party as recently as March 24, 2022? This is a situation where not only is the person a Liberal insider, but a Conservative insider as well. Does the hon. member care to comment or do Conservatives seem to have amnesia on that fact as well?

[Privilege, October 21st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, nobody has ever accused the hon. member of not fully understanding the facts. While he wants to dismiss the hon. member from the NDP caucus, it was the NDP, at committee, that uncovered the corruption happening with one of the board members. I know that because I was the member. The notion that somehow we are in the cover-up is not only ridiculous, but is another example of the way the member chooses not to understand the facts.

The fact is that the Conservative Party wrote a motion to send this to PROC. The Conservatives are banking on their base being too stupid to understand the procedural shenanigans they are doing in the House. Given that, will the hon. member finally have at least the courtesy and dignity to stand up, come clean with Canadians and send this to committee so we can get on with the good work, or does he not understand—

[Committees of the House, October 9th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, the NDP stands for genuine accountability and the protection of civil liberties. We do not have to look abroad. Although there are many good and legitimate cases abroad of this technology being abused, it is being abused right here in Canada. It is being abused by corporations left unchecked and a government that simply refuses to act.

[Committees of the House, October 9th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, the truth is, many of our arm's-length commissioners do not have the resources, the teeth or the legislative ability to really dig in to hold government accountable. Yes, they might have mandates, but what we found at committee, if the hon. member will recall, is that the RCMP often refused to answer our questions fully and truthfully. It did not have what is called “a duty of candour” in terms of being able to answer questions and be held accountable. We often found at committee that the RCMP would send members of the law enforcement chain of command who did not have adequate answers.

If they were doing that to us, as parliamentarians, I can only imagine how frustrating the process is for privacy commissioners, as an afterthought. I cannot recall exactly what the number was, but we only scratched the surface on how this is being used ubiquitously across government. What we came to find out was that the vast majority of departments never once considered a privacy impact assessment, even though that was required by their departmental mandates.

[Committees of the House, October 9th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, the Canadian Human Rights Act must ensure it addresses discrimination caused by AI technology, and the Privacy Commissioner needs to have the power to meaningfully impose penalties on those who violate the law.