Bill Blaikie, MP - Questions 2004

National Defence

Tue, 21 Nov 2006 16:25:32 -0500

Tuesday December 7, 2004

Hon. Bill Blaikie (Elmwood—Transcona, NDP): Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of National Defence.

Yesterday we learned in the other place that apparently the government has no intention of keeping its election promise and throne speech promise to provide 5,000 more troops for peacekeeping, at least not in the foreseeable future.

National Defence

Tue, 21 Nov 2006 16:29:53 -0500

Thursday December 2, 2004

Hon. Bill Blaikie (Elmwood—Transcona, NDP): Mr. Speaker, my question is for the right hon. Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is quoted in the media today saying that he talked about the weaponization of space with President Bush and that the President assured him weaponization of space was not implied in the missile defence system. I am tempted to ask whether he also sold him some swamp land in Florida at the same time, but I do not want to be provocative

Zonolite Insulation

Tue, 21 Nov 2006 16:31:53 -0500

Thursday November 25, 2004

Hon. Bill Blaikie (Elmwood—Transcona, NDP): Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Labour and Housing. The minister has had some time to think about Zonolite since we asked him a question about it some time ago. This asbestos-containing deadly material has been found in homes on reserves but is also contained throughout many homes in the rest of Canada.

Credit Card Medicine

Thu, 02 Feb 2006 18:44:25 -0500

October 18, 2004

Hon. Bill Blaikie (Elmwood-Transcona, NDP): Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health. The Minister of Health will recall that as leader the Prime Minister in the recent election campaigned against the Tories because he said he was against credit card medicine. We now have credit card medicine in Montreal.

National Defence

Tue, 21 Nov 2006 16:33:28 -0500

Wednesday October 13, 2004

Hon. Bill Blaikie (Elmwood—Transcona, NDP): Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence, who was asked a question by his former House leader about a report on the subs that existed prior to the purchase. The question was whether or not the government was aware of that report and whether or not it had presumably read it.

National Missile Defence

Tue, 21 Nov 2006 16:34:58 -0500

October 8, 2004

Hon. Bill Blaikie (Elmwood—Transcona, NDP): Mr. Speaker, I am glad to see that the Minister of National Defence has backed off the idea that there is no role for parliamentarians in reviewing the sub program because the other day he said it was strictly a matter for military inquiry.

I would ask the Prime Minister if he might also have a change of mind with respect to addressing the democratic deficit, and I say to the right hon. Prime Minister, if he is so convinced that there is no weaponization of space involved in the national missile defence program, why will he not allow members of his caucus to show that they are equally so convinced and allow them to vote on any decision taken by the Prime Minister?

National Defence

Tue, 21 Nov 2006 16:36:01 -0500

October 6, 2004

Hon. Bill Blaikie (Elmwood—Transcona, NDP): Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of National Defence. It seems odd to us that at the same time as the government is contemplating the enormous expense of being involved in George Bush's national missile defence plan, we do not seem to have the money to properly and safely outfit our submariners. Therefore, at the same time as we express concern about the crew of the HMCS Chicoutimi, I want to ask the Minister of National Defence this. Is there an intention on the part of the government to go after the British government for having sold us this equipment in the first place and to go after it for the costs associated with what are obviously inferior submarines?

Liberal Party of Canada

Thu, 02 Feb 2006 18:44:31 -0500

May 14, 2004

Hon. Bill Blaikie (Winnipeg-Transcona, NDP): Mr. Speaker, a recent appointee of the Prime Minister as the Liberal candidate referred to a vote for the NDP as a whisper, ignoring the fact that I seldom whisper, and neither do other NDP MPs for that matter, ignoring the election of progressive mayors in Toronto and Vancouver, the re-election of NDP governments in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, the increase in proper support in other provincial elections, and of course what happened last night in Hamilton.

Electoral Boundaries

Thu, 02 Feb 2006 19:15:04 -0500

May 13, 2004

Hon. Bill Blaikie (Winnipeg-Transcona, NDP): Mr. Speaker, it is an interesting debate but neither the Liberals nor the Conservatives will ever do anything about gas prices because they are both committed to the corporately dominated market when it comes to this.

My question is for the Deputy Prime Minister and it has to do with the democratic deficit. With all the shenanigans going on in the Liberal Party and the refusal to divulge positions on important issues like health care and various other things, it is easy to be cynical, but I want to give the Deputy Prime Minister an opportunity to redeem the government.

Health Care

Thu, 02 Feb 2006 19:15:08 -0500

May 12, 2004

Hon. Bill Blaikie (Elmwood-Transcona, NDP): Mr. Speaker, it is curious to see the official opposition concerned about high gas prices; this is the first time in 25 years. I remember a Tory government that fell because it jacked the price of gas up so high. My question for the Prime Minister--

Some hon. members: Oh, oh.

Cities & Infrastructure

Thu, 02 Feb 2006 19:15:01 -0500

May 12, 2004

Hon. Bill Blaikie (Winnipeg-Transcona, NDP): Mr. Speaker, note the absence of any comment whatsoever on non-profit delivery of health care versus for profit private delivery. That was a complete evasion of the question.

I want to ask the Prime Minister, are we to be treated to the same mystery when it comes to the Prime Minister's policies on cities? We are told now that there is a great privatization scheme in the works for cities and how to deal with infrastructure in cities, which we are not supposed to know about until the election.

Health Care Delivery

Thu, 02 Feb 2006 19:15:08 -0500

May 7, 2004

Hon. Bill Blaikie (Elmwood-Transcona, NDP): Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health.

The Minister of Health says that the Liberal policy on health care is no secret. That is certainly the case now but it was not always so when the Liberals were trying to keep their real policy on health care from Canadians. The Minister of Health revealed some of it a few weeks ago, and now we see more of the connection between Liberals and private delivery of medicare.

Gas Prices

Thu, 02 Feb 2006 19:15:07 -0500

May 6, 2004

Hon. Bill Blaikie (Elmwood-Transcona, NDP): Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister acts like he has never been on a committee before and does not know anything about the dynamics of how majorities work. Perhaps he has forgotten.

I want to turn to another issue and that is the issue of gas prices in this country. The NDP has put forward the idea of a fair prices review commission for gas. The government has rejected that.

Standing Committee on Public Accounts

Tue, 21 Nov 2006 16:39:03 -0500

May 6, 2004

Hon. Bill Blaikie (Winnipeg—Transcona, NDP): Mr. Speaker, I do not know if there is such a thing as a parliamentary tranquilizer but perhaps some could be administered to those members. My question is for the right hon. Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister likes to talk about stark differences and yet the starkest difference in Canadian politics these days is between what the Liberals say and what they do. One law for the Liberals and one law for the rest of us.

Iraq

Thu, 02 Feb 2006 18:44:30 -0500

May 5, 2004

Hon. Bill Blaikie (Winnipeg-Transcona, NDP): Mr. Speaker, my question is for the right hon. Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister will know that people all around the world are horrified by the pictures that have been coming out of Iraq in the last few days. President Bush has rightly gone on Arab television today to explain his position and how abhorrent he finds these acts by his fellow Americans..