Hamilton MP drove while suspended: court records
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Poor parking wasn’t the only vehicular sin committed by a Hamilton member of parliament.
In the wake of reports published earlier this month by the Toronto Sun showing Hamilton Centre MP Matthew Green beating the pre-Christmas crunch at Lime Ridge Mall by parking his campaign van in a no-parking zone, court records show the rookie NDP backbencher has repeated convictions for driving while suspended — justice delivered in absentia as Green never showed up for any of his appearances.
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On Oct. 4 2012, Green’s driver’s licence was suspended for non-payment of fines when he was was pulled over by police in downtown Hamilton and handed a summons ordering him to appear in court Nov. 21.
Green was a no-show for his trial date, court records show, and his case was put off to March 6 2013 — an appearance he likewise never attended.
His case was adjourned again until Aug. 26, which — after failing to appear for a third time — was convicted in absentia and handed a $1,000 fine along with an additional six month suspension.
A little over a month after his case was remanded for the second time, Green was pulled over by Haldimand County OPP in Caledonia, 20 km. southwest of Hamilton, and again charged with driving while suspended.
Summoned but again failing to appear for his July 26 2013 court appearance, he was convicted in absentia and handed a second $1,000 fine and further suspensions.
When contacted by the Sun, Green admitted receiving two speeding tickets — one in 2011 and another in 2013 — and neglected to pay the fine by the deadline.
“On both occasions I was unaware that my license was suspended until I was informed during a traffic stop,” he said in a email.
“As soon as I was made aware of these situations, I paid the fines and my license was reinstated after the appropriate time.”
Elected to Hamilton City Council in 2014, Green chose not to seek re-election to mount a successful bid to replace long-time Hamilton Centre MP and former federal NDP deputy leader David Christopherson, who retired in 2018 from a celebrated three-decade career in municipal, provincial and federal politics.
Green came under fire earlier this year after Toronto Sun reader John Hlohinec spotted his signature orange-and-white ‘kei van’ — emblazoned with Green’s name, social media handles and NDP party logos — parked in a no-parking zone at Hamilton’s Lime Ridge Mall on Dec. 21.
Green allegedly went on the defensive when confronted, asking if Hlohinec was a retired police officer and demanding he ‘stop picking on him.’
bpassifiume@postmedia.com
On Twitter: @bryanpassifiume
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