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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 113

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 19, 2022 02:00PM
Context: House Hansard - 113 - Oct/19/22
Mr. Daniel Blaikie (Elmwood—Transcona, NDP)
  • Oct/19/22 3:54:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on behalf of my mother, Brenda, my sisters, Rebecca, Jessica and Tessa, and our respective families, including my wife, Janelle, and our sons, Robert and Noah, who are here in Ottawa today, I want to thank all my colleagues in the House of Commons for taking the time to honour my father's life and work here in the House. I want to especially thank the members for Burnaby South, Winnipeg North, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel and Saanich—Gulf Islands for their very kind words about Dad's legacy and work in this place. Members have already heard a bit about Dad. I think it is fair to say that he was an outstanding parliamentarian, an ordained minister of the United Church of Canada, an avid canoeist and hiker, a lover of all things Celtic, a husband, a father, a grandfather and dear friend. He means the world to those he leaves behind. During his time in this place, Bill Blaikie left a lasting mark on the House of Commons and the nation. Some may know this and some may not, but as a member of the McGrath committee on parliamentary reform, he had many tales that he liked to tell around the dining room table. As a member of that committee and a long-time NDP House leader and Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, he played a key role in developing many of the procedures that we now take for granted in this place, from electing the Speaker by secret ballot to applying votes to simply enforcing an appropriate decorum in the chamber, a task easier said than done but that he often made look easy. Incidentally, he was able to use the same sense of gravitas at home to enforce decorum. It was a very proud moment for him when, at the conclusion of his parliamentary career, his peers in this place named him parliamentarian of the year. Some alluded already to the fact that as NDP health critic in the early 1980s, he led the charge for a proper Canada Health Act. He is credited in the memoir of then health minister Bégin for having paved the way for a much stronger act than the government of the day would have enacted if left to its own devices. He negotiated recognition and protection for indigenous rights into the Clarity Act. He served as parliamentary leader in the initial period of Jack Layton's leadership and was sworn into the Queen's Privy Council at that time in the context of his own and other New Democrats' advocacy for the rights of Maher Arar. In the early days of the Harper government, Bill led the negotiating team that protected the 2005 so-called NDP budget by going to what was then known as the Langevin Block to meet with the new prime minister, Harper, ensuring that hundreds of millions of dollars would go to providing housing, public transportation and post-secondary education to millions of Canadians instead of going to more corporate tax cuts. In his work, Dad was reinforced by this faith, and we have heard a bit about that already today too. It is a faith that calls us not simply to care about what happens to souls in the next life, but to care for people, all people, in this life, and manifest the love and compassion of Jesus not only through the charity of individuals, but as a matter of justice and in the rules that structure our economy and our relationships with each other and the planet. He often saw the work of the NDP as standing in the prophetic tradition and speaking truth to worldly powers too consumed by greed, convenience and other concerns that blind us to our duty to care for the earth and all its creatures. Despite the importance of his work in Ottawa, Dad was always happy to slip home as soon as he could. In fact, earlier, former government House leader Don Boudria came to meet with my mom, and Dad would often tell tales of him and Boudria figuring out, in the month of June, how to wrap up business efficiently in the House so that he could do this very thing. Then, especially in good weather, he could tie a canoe to the top of the van and zip off with one or more of his children to explore a lake or creek, usually in or on the way to Whiteshell Provincial Park, that he had been eyeing up from the highway for years and wanted to check out more closely with a paddle. He carried that wonder for the natural world into his work as a parliamentarian. He was among the first to raise the problem of global warming in the House of Commons. In his time as minister of conservation in Manitoba, he created five new provincial parks and took great care and delight in directing the maintenance and repair of Manitoba's existing parks. There are many iconic photos of Dad playing the pipes, from formal gatherings here on Parliament Hill to family gatherings down at the lake. He deeply valued tradition and family connections. Exploring and celebrating our Scottish and Irish heritage was one of the ways he connected to our family history. Growing up, Celtic music, stories and toasts featured prominently in our family gatherings. However, these things were also an important part of his public persona. The New Democrats in Winnipeg have spent many evenings on a diet of Burns poetry and reflections on the state of democratic socialism in Canada in order to support NDP MPs from Elmwood-Transcona. In fact, the member for Burnaby South had the honour of being our guest speaker on one such occasion. Dad and Tommy Douglas organized the first formal Burns dinners here on Parliament Hill, a tradition that was subsequently taken up by the Speaker. These dinners have served as an opportunity for politicians of all stripes to gather and relate to each other in positive ways too often drowned out by the more toxic personalities in the House of Commons. My sisters and I will be forever grateful for the many long conversations that lasted well into the wee hours of the morning where we got to investigate the mysteries of theology, politics and history with a master of the arts who cared for us deeply. We love you too Dad. Earlier, I mentioned Dad's fondness for Scottish culture, so I would like to finish this tribute with one of his favourite Scottish toasts: Here's tae us,Wha's like us?Damn few,And they're a' deid!
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