Daniel Blaikie

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, December 8th, 2015]

Madam Speaker, congratulations on your recent appointment.

With respect to some of the commitments the member mentioned were in the throne speech, I look forward to seeing the government following through on them. Of course, there were some great commitments in the red book in 1993, and a government with 13 years that did not follow through on them.

For the benefit of Canadians, could the member explain how her government is going to be different from the Liberal government of the nineties and how it will keep its promises?

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, December 7th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to be rising in the House to speak on behalf of my hometown. I want to thank the voters in Elmwood, East Kildonan and Transcona who have trusted me with their voice in this place.

I want to commend the hon. leader of the NDP for showing how the government's Speech from the Throne could be improved. I urge members opposite to take his suggestions seriously. I would ask him to speak for a minute on the need for a national pharmacare plan in Canada. We know that one of the biggest challenges to a sustainable health care system in Canada is tackling the costs of drugs. I know there are people in my riding who are struggling with those costs. We have had many governments over the decades who have failed to take action on this, including some that promised to act on it. Would the hon. leader of the NDP explain to some members on the opposite benches, who may need it, the urgency of including and implementing a national pharmacare strategy as part of any future health accord.