Recognizing greatness on the other side

Re Brian Mulroney is our greatest statesman prime minister, Opinion, March 13

In listing Brian Mulroney’s accomplishments and legacy, Paul Deegan missed the historic apology and $300-million compensation package to right the wrong of the internment of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War.

As a voter that tends to identify with Liberals and the NDP who sometimes wonders in this tribal era maybe I’m the problem with my antipathy for the current Conservatives, a Conservative statesman like Mulroney is a reminder that moral leadership and great things can be accomplished by the other side of the aisle. Russell Pangborn, Keswick, Ont. Brian Mulroney was the worst prime minister in the history of Canada. He started negotiating with the United States and Mexico for the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

He was a puppet of Ronald Reagan, who wanted NAFTA because of his campaign promise when he ran for president in 1980. In October 1992, Mulroney initialled the NAFTA draft.

Canada lost thousands of jobs due to NAFTA. These jobs will never return. Many of Canada’s jobs ended up in Mexico. This country has poor labour laws, has weak environmental laws and pays its workers starvation wages.

The failure of NAFTA was a factor in the right wing populist democratic political revolution which took place in 2016 when Donald Trump won.

A failed NAFTA was also a factor in the Bernie Sanders campaign for president in 2016 where he nearly knocked off the powerful Bill and Hillary Clinton political machine which supports the establishment and the elites. Bill Clinton signed NAFTA for the U.S.

The only people who benefited from NAFTA were the billionaires and the CEOs of large corporations. The losers of NAFTA were Canadian workers. I believe the greatest prime minister we ever had was Sir John A. Macdonald. He was the primary person who created Canada. He is the father of our country. Ken Sisler, Newmarket