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Speeches outside the HouseSelkirk Settlers Monument - Speech by Bill Blaikie"It is a matter of fact that the story of the Red River settlement begins with a Scot named Thomas Douglas, 7th son of the Earl of Selkirk. But it is a matter of great historical interest that the story of the Red River settlement really begins with one of the great injustices of history....." 1 attachment
( categories: Speeches outside the House )
NDP Faith and Justice Caucus AddressNotes from an address by the Hon. Bill Blaikie to the Faith and Social Justice workshop at the NDP Convention Quebec City September 9, 2006 During a speech in Toronto in the fall of 2002 at a debate organized during the NDP Leadership Race, I made a reference to the social gospel as one of the traditions that inspires and informs the NDP. In the question period that followed I was taken to task by a woman at the back of the hall who said that “gospel” was a Christian concept and that by using the word “gospel” I was engaging in a form of Christian imperialism that left non-Christians out of the conversation. Whether one thinks that this was over reaction to an objective description of one of the origins of the party, or a brilliant flash of multi-cultural sensitivity, it nevertheless raised for me an important question. How do those of us who see ourselves in the social gospel tradition speak of ourselves and what we believe, in a 21st century Canadian context that is characterized by secularism, pluralism, a touchiness on the part of many about anything Christian, and a touchiness in general about the role of religion in politics.
( categories: Faith and Politics | Speeches outside the House )
Claiming DemocracyAddress to Vancouver Island NDP Renewal MeetingAugust 25, 2001Bill Blaikie, MP for Elmwood-TransconaThe invitation to this event begins with a question – where is democracy? I would like to shape my remarks this morning around the structured questions of an anti-war folk song that was popular back in the 60’s, in the coffee houses that had sprung up across the nation for a while: “Where have all the flowers gone?” And so today, we might legitimately ask, where has all the democracy gone? And how do we get it back, not just as it was, but hopefully deepened and broadened, because even at its best, liberal capitalist democracy was not the truly democratic society and democratic economy envisioned by many on the left.
( categories: Speeches outside the House )
Cancun Address to IPNRemarks by Bill Blaikie to the Inaugural Ceremony of the World Parliamentary Forum of the International Parliamentary NetworkCancun, Mexico, September 9, 2003 I am very pleased to be able to participate in this world parliamentary forum and extend my thanks to our Mexican hosts and Senator Leticia Borgesia in particular for organizing this event. As the Parliamentary Leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada, I am proud of the political fact that our party has always believed and advocated the idea that, as it says in the declaration of the International Parliamentary Network on the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the WTO, “another economic and trade paradigm is possible, which benefits the majorities of the populations all over the world.” I have been an MP for almost 25 years and unfortunately I have spent almost my whole political life contending against the neo-liberal paradigm.
( categories: Speeches outside the House | Work outside Parliament )
Campaign Launch Speech\"Canada is the issue on which the next election should be fought. \"Family, friends, political colleagues, fellow New Democrats, a grateful welcome to you all for being here this morning to join me as I announce what must be the worst kept secret in town, that I will be a candidate for the leadership of the New Democratic Party of Canada. Je serai un candidat pour le cheferie de l’NPD, et merci, tout le monde pour votre presence ici ce matin. ( categories: Speeches outside the House )
Labour Day - Northern WorkersKeynote Address to the Triennial Convention of Union of Northern WorkersYellowknife, N.W.T.It's a pleasure to be here among union friends as we head into the Labour Day weekend. And it is a pleasure to be here in Yellowknife again. I have visited Yellowknife on a number of occasions. I remember coming here with the Transport Committee to conduct hearings on deregulation north of 60. I’m sure that many of you here remember all the false promises of deregulation.
( categories: Speeches outside the House )
Anti-terrorism LegislationNation’s Business October 25, 2001 Good evening, my name is Bill Blaikie. I’m the Member of Parliament for Winnipeg Transcona and NDP House Leader. The Liberal government’s new Anti-terrorism Legislation is welcome in so far as it implements certain United Nations conventions that Canada has ratified. Other sections of the legislation are, however, attracting a great deal of controversy. Many Canadians share the concerns expressed by New Democrats in Parliament that the legislation is a potential threat to the right of Canadians to legitimate political dissent, and it is this concern for the preservation and protection of legitimate dissent that guides the NDP in its approach to Bill C-36. The liberal government has not been respectful ( categories: Justice | Speeches outside the House )
Address to the NATO Parliamentary AssemblyNotes for an Address to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly
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NDP MPWelcome to my website. I hope you will find useful information here about my work in Parliament and Elmwood-Transcona. Syndicate |