Irene Mathyssen
Irene Mathyssen | |
---|---|
Ontario Provincial Parliament for Middlesex | |
In office September 6, 1990 – June 7, 1995 | |
Preceded by | Doug Reycraft |
Succeeded by | Bruce Smith |
Personal details | |
Born | Ilderton , Ontario, Canada | August 16, 1951
Profession |
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Irene R. Mathyssen (born August 16, 1951) is a Canadian
Background
Mathyssen was educated at the
Provincial politics
She was elected to represent the riding of
On October 21, 1994, she was named a
The NDP was defeated by the Progressive Conservative Party in the 1995 provincial election, and Mathyssen was defeated in Middlesex, finishing third behind Reycraft and winner Progressive Conservative Bruce Smith.[6]
She ran in the London—Fanshawe riding in the 1999 provincial election and placed third, behind PC candidate Frank Mazzilli and Liberal Peter Mancini.[7] Mathyssen ran provincially in London—Fanshawe for a second time in the 2003 provincial election, and this time finished a strong second, losing to Liberal Khalil Ramal by fewer than 2,000 votes.[8]
Federal politics
She ran for the federal New Democratic Party in the 1997 election, and finished third in the riding of London—Fanshawe, well behind Liberal incumbent Pat O'Brien.[9] O'Brien won by more than 3,000 votes.[10]
2006: Elected as MP
She again ran in London—Fanshawe in the 2006 election. Pat O'Brien had left the Liberal Party by this time, and sat out his remaining time in the House of Commons as an independent. He opted not to run in the 2006 election. Mathyssen won the riding with 34% of the vote, becoming one of 29 New Democrats elected.[11]
During the session, she was named as the NDP critic for Housing and for the Status of Women.[12][13] In November 2006, she tabled a Private member's bill which she called the Housing Bill of Rights which would have provided secure housing for Canadians. The bill got no further than its first reading. A similar bill proposed by Libby Davies in 2004 also died on the order paper.[14]
During a
2008: Re-elected
Mathyssen was re-elected as the Member of Parliament for London-Fanshawe in the 2008 federal election. In that election, she was the only incumbent in the London region re-elected with increased total vote (17,672) and percentage of popular vote (43.1%). In addition to retaining her role as Status of Women critic, Mathyssen was also named the NDP's deputy critic for public safety, and in this role, she has been an advocate for Canadian firefighters. She also served as the NDP's deputy critic for Veterans' Affairs.
In December 2010, Mathyssen introduced Bill C-601, which allowed any worker who had lost their job through no fault of their own to make a single lump sum payment over the maximum allowable investment into their Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) without financial penalty. It also ensured that workers would receive the maximum amount of Employment Insurance benefits for which they are eligible; workers would be able to collect EI immediately despite receiving severance pay.
2011: Re-elected
In the 2011 election, Mathyssen was re-elected with 50% of the popular vote, defeating Conservative candidate Jim Chahbar by over 7,000 votes. She was named the Official Opposition Critic for Seniors in the NDP’s shadow cabinet by Jack Layton.[16] Despite the tradition of committee chairs going to government MPs, she served as chair of the House of Commons Committee on the Status of Women.[17]
On January 1, 2012, Caterpillar Inc. locked out over 450 workers from the Electro Motive Diesel plant in Mathyssen’s riding of London-Fanshawe. Mathyssen was a vocal critic of the company’s actions and a strong supporter of the locked out workers.[18] After the company announced it was closing the plant on February 3, Mathyssen put forward a motion in the House of Commons to amend the Investment Canada Act to prevent companies from taking these actions in the future.[19]
In October 2013, Mathyssen introduced Bill C-282 to eliminate the HST on feminine hygiene products. The idea gained popular grassroots support, with a group called Canadian Menstruators organizing an online petition that rapidly attracted tens of thousands of signatures from across Canada.[20] Mathyssen took the lead in the House of Commons for an NDP Opposition Day, introducing a motion to force a vote on the issue. The governing Conservatives initially tried to stall the effort promising to revisit the idea in the future, without a clear timeline. Mathyssen would not relent however, and with more than 74,000 Canadians having signed the petition, the Conservatives, with pressure mounting from their own female MPs threatening to not show up for the vote, changed course at the last moment.[21] With the backing of MPs from all political parties in the House of Commons, Mathyssen's motion passed and the tax was eliminated on July 1, 2015.[22][23]
2015: Re-elected
In October 2015, Mathyssen was re-elected for another term in parliament. Despite a strong "Stop Harper" campaign that led to increased voter turnout and sent a wave of popular support to Justin Trudeau's Liberals at the expense of the NDP, Mathyssen not only held her seat in London-Fanshawe, but retained almost all of the 20,000+ votes she received in 2011. NDP leader Tom Mulcair named Mathyssen the party's Critic for Veterans Affairs and the deputy whip for the caucus.
In August 2018, Mathyssen announced that she would be retiring from politics and would not seek re-election in the
References
- ^ Wilson, Joe (15 February 2006). "Putting it all together [London Fanshawe riding]". CBCA Complete. p. 2.
- ^ "Ontario election: A riding-by-riding review". The Windsor Star. 7 September 1990. p. A7.
- ^ "$6 million earmarked for cleanup". The Windsor Star. 24 August 1991. p. A4.
- ^ Coyle, Jim. "Devil of an expansion: Chalking up high cost of land grab". The Ottawa Citizen March 24, 1993. p. A10.
- ^ "New faces added in cabinet shuffle by premier". The Windsor Star. 21 October 1994. p. A8.
- ^ "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. 8 June 1995. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
- ^ "Poll by Poll Elections Ontario, General Election of June 3, 1999: Middlesex". Elections Ontario. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
- ^ Elections Ontario. "Poll by Poll Elections Ontario, General Election of October 2, 2003: London-Fanshawe". Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
- ^ "Here's how Canadians voted - Ontario". Kingston Whig - Standard. 3 June 1997. p. 6.
- ^ "Riding by Riding Results". The Ottawa Citizen. 30 June 2004. p. A6.
- ^ "Election Results '06". The Guelph Mercury. 25 January 2006. p. A9.
- ^ McGregor, Glen (10 May 2006). "Tory MP books room for abortion opponents". The Ottawa Citizen. p. A5.
- ^ Lu, Vanessa (17 August 2006). "Homeless funding is 'missing'". Toronto Star. p. A20.
- ^ "C-382: An Act to provide for secure, adequate, accessible and affordable housing for Canadians". Government of Canada. 22 November 2006. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
- ^ "NDP MP sorry for 'scantily clad woman' attack". CTV News. 7 December 2007.
- ^ Fitzpatrick, Meagan (26 May 2011). "Layton announces team of critics". CBC News.
- ^ "Members of Parliament: Irene Mathyssen". Parliament of Canada.
- ^ Taylor, Scott (30 January 2012). "Mathyssen demands feds 'step up to the plate'". London Free Press. Archived from the original on 12 August 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
- ^ "NDP demand changes to foreign investment law". 7 February 2012.
- ^ "Canadian Menstruators | #NoTaxOnTampons". www.canadianmenstruators.ca. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- ^ nurun.com. "MP wants tampon tax cut now". The London Free Press. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- ^ "Government Axing GST On Tampons, Other Feminine Hygiene Products, July 1". (CFPL AM) AM 980. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- ^ nurun.com. "Feds agree to drop tax on feminine hygiene goods". Beacon Herald. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- ^ Johnson, Kelsey (27 August 2018). "Longtime NDP MP Irene Mathyssen retiring". Retrieved 27 August 2018.
External links
- Irene Mathyssen (archived on March 19, 2018)
- Irene Mathyssen – Parliament of Canada biography
- Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history