David Orlikow

David Orlikow(April 20, 1918 – January 19, 1998) was aCanadianpolitician, and a long-serving member of theHouse of Commons of Canada.He represented the riding ofWinnipeg Northfrom 1962 to 1988 as a member of theNew Democratic Party.

David Orlikow
Member of theHouse of Commons of Canada
In office June 18, 1962 – November 21, 1988
Preceded by	Murray Smith
Succeeded by	Rey Pagtakhan
Constituency	Winnipeg North
Member of theLegislative Assembly of Manitoba
In office June 16, 1958 – May 1962
Preceded by	new constituency
Succeeded by	Saul Cherniack
Constituency	St. Johns
Member of theWinnipeg City Council
In office 1951–1958
Winnipeg School Trustee
In office 1945–1950
Personal details
Born	(1918-04-18)April 18, 1918 Winnipeg,Manitoba
Died	January 19, 1998(1998-01-19)(aged 79) Winnipeg,Manitoba
Political party	New Democratic Party
Other political affiliations	Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
Relations	Saul Cherniack(cousin) Gordon Orlikow(nephew) John Orlikow(nephew)
Alma mater	University of Manitoba
Occupation	Labour educator, pharmacist

Family

Orlikow was the son of Louis Orlikow (d. 1965) and Sarah Cherniack (d. 1927).He was half-brother of Lionel Orlikow (1932-2008), who was the son of Louis Orlikow and Sylverta “Sylvia” Anderson (d. 1971), and who married Elizabeth Anne Slavin (1932-2021) with whom he had five sons and two daughters (twin brothers David and John, Gord, Dan, Peter, Nancy, and Kate).

His first cousin wasSaul Cherniack,also a prominent Manitoba politician and acabinet ministerin the provincial government ofEdward Schreyer.His nephewGordon Orlikowis a formerdecathlon,heptathlon,and hurdles competitor who won medals in the 73rdDrake Relays,the1981 Maccabiah Gamesand1985 Maccabiah Gamesin Israel, and the1987 Pan American Games,is a former Chairman of the Board of Directors ofAthletics Canada,a member of theCanadian Olympic Committee,and a Senior Client Partner atKorn/Ferry International.

He was educated at theUniversity of Manitoba,and worked as a labour educator and pharmacist. Orlikow married Velma (Val) Kane on June 1, 1946. They had one daughter, Leslie.

His mother, Sarah, was first elected to theWinnipeg School Boardas the school trustee for Ward 3 in 1925. Orlikow's cousin, Mindel Cherniak Sheps, succeeded her in the seat when she retired, and held it until 1950 when her brother, Saul Cherniak, was elected.

Orlikow's brother, Lionel, was also a trustee on the Winnipeg school board from 1988 to 1998.When Lionel Orlikow retired, he was succeeded by his son John, now aWinnipeg City Councillor.

Municipal politics

He served as a trustee on the Winnipeg School Board from 1945 to 1951, and was analdermanin the city of Winnipeg from 1951 to 1959. He also served on the board of directors for Winnipeg's John Howard & Elizabeth Fry Society from 1958 to 1961, and was a board member of the Welfare Council of Greater Winnipeg in 1958.

Orlikow was also involved with theJewish Labour Societyand theCanadian Labour Congress.He helped to organize a steelworkers' union in the northern Manitoba town ofThompson,afterINCOset up operations in the area. Other organizations of which Orlikow was involved included the Union Centre and the Manitoba Society of Seniors.

Orlikow was a founding member of the NDP and a lifetime member of the CCF/NDP. In 1961, Orlikow took part in Manitoba CCF's transition to theNew Democratic Party.

Manitoba Legislature

In theprovincial election of 1958,Orlikow was elected to theLegislative Assembly of Manitobafor theCooperative Commonwealth Federationin the north-end Winnipeg constituency ofSt. John's.He defeated hisProgressive ConservativeandLiberal-Progressiveopponents by a significant margin. He was re-elected in the1959 election,by the reduced margin of 251 votes over Progressive Conservative opponentDan Zaharia.David Orlikow was an NDP MLA from June 16, 1958 to May 1962.

Orlikow maintained an interest in the Manitoba NDP after switching to federal politics. In 1968-69, he helped facilitate the party's transition of leadership fromRussell PaulleytoEdward Schreyer.

The Manitoba Legislature paid tribute to Orlikow on Thursday June 25, 1998.

Judy Wasylycia-Leis,whose riding, both as an MLA and an MP included much of the area earlier represented by Orlikow, recalled the advice and information she used to receive from Orlikow and his many phone calls. Wasylycia-Leis's provincial counterparts NDP MLAsDave ChomiakandDoug Martindalealso admitted to being among those on the receiving end of those phone calls.

According to Doug Martindale, Orlikow "never really retired" from politics in that Orlikow was always researching various issues and providing the information he gathered to various Manitoba NDP MLAs and MPs. Orlikow was a frequent visiter to the Manitoba Legislature's library and, even when hospitalized, he managed to transform his hospital room into a mini office. During the last week of his life, Orlikow was researching the financial impact of smoking on the health care system, and what types of lawsuits he figured the Federal and Provincial governments should launch against the tobacco industry to recover some of the cost.

Federal politics

Orlikow resigned his legislative seat in May 1962 to run for the Canadian House of Commons. He was elected in Winnipeg North in thefederal election of 1962,defeatingLiberalPaul Parashin by just under 4,000 votes. He defeated Parashin again by a narrower margin in the1963 election,but increased his majority to nearly 10,000 votes in theelection of 1965.

He came close to losing his seat in the "Trudeaumania"election of 1968,defeating LiberalCecil Semchyshynby only 963 votes. After this, he was returned by safe majorities in the elections of1972and1974,1979,1980and1984.

There was a provincial swing against the NDP in thefederal election of 1988,and Orlikow unexpectedly lost the Winnipeg North riding to LiberalRey Pagtakhanby fewer than 2,000 votes. After a 26-year career in the Commons, Orlikow was genuinely surprised by the result. Orlikow was an NDP MP from June 18, 1962 to November 21, 1988.

Throughout his career, Orlikow fought for progressive policies in fields such as immigration, refugees, social justice and labour. During the 1980s, he sought reforms to Canada's Bank Act which would have required banks to invest a portion of their money in local development projects. In the very last week of his life, he was researching ways for the federal and provincial governments to recover monies fromtobaccocompanies for the social costs of cigarette use.

After his death in January 1998, former staffer Dan O'Connor wrote the following eulogy:

"David was always on the side of the ordinary person. He was relentless in the pursuit of justice from big government or big business. The most important job in his office was the individual case work, and he didn't trust it to anyone else. He made every phone call and wrote every letter."

The Canadian House of Commons paid tribute to Orlikow on February 4, 1998.

Suing the CIA

During the 1950s,Velma Orlikowwas a patient at theAllan Memorial InstituteinMontrealat a time when theAmericanCentral Intelligence Agencywas conducting itsMKULTRAbrainwashing experiments at the facility. She was unwittingly dosed withLSDand was exposed to brainwashing tapes. Along with eight other former patients, she later sued the CIA for mistreatment and won.

Early in 1979, Orlikow called office of lawyersJoseph Rauhand Jim Turner after readingNew York Timesstory concerning CIA involvement inEwen Cameron’s research. The Tuesday, August 2, 1977 story, written by Nicholas Horrock, was entitled "Private Institutions Used In CIA Effort To Control Behavior". Horrock's article referred to the work of John Marks, whose documentation of CIA activities, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, was used in what was to be referred to as the Orlikow, et al. v. United States case.The other plaintiffs eventually included Jean-Charles Page, Robert Logie, Rita Zimmerman, Louis Weinstein, Janine Huard, Lyvia Stadler, Mary Morrow, and Mrs. Florence Langleben. The CIA settled in 1988. Velma died in 1990.

Near the end of his life, David Orlikow encouraged NDP MPs such asSvend Robinsonto seek government compensation for the Allan Institute's victims, and for their families.

External links

• David Orlikow fonds - Library and Archives Canada

• David Orlikow – Parliament of Canada biography