Mulroney the statesman is still going strong
BEIJING IS CONVINCED THAT CANADA CAN BE PUSHED AROUND.
— TERRY GLAVIN
Montrealers can count one of the great statesmen from the second half of the 20th century as one of their own, but it is former prime minister Brian Mulroney’s latest thinking that should pique our imagination.
Today, Mulroney may be an octogenarian, but he appears far from slowing down.
he is speaking out on important public policy challenges. he has reached across partisan lines, offering Justin Trudeau’s government counsel on trade issues.
Last week, he laid out his Agenda for Canadian Greatness, which includes everything from a dramatic increase in immigration to an objective of 75 million people to a powerful assertion of sovereignty across our North. Consistent with his record on social justice, the two items at the very top of his list were “full Indigenous justice by implementation of the Erasmus-dussault royal Commission report” and “greater fairness and opportunities for our Black, Indigenous and people of colour together with a national commitment to the eradication of systemic racism and anti-semitism in Canada.”
Mulroney also has disagreed publicly with the view of 19 Canadians, including two former aides, who signed a letter urging Trudeau to free huawei executive Meng Wanzhou and bring about the return of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. Mulroney cited the importance of preserving our relations with our allies in the Five Eyes alliance — the united States, the united Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand — and our access to its shared intelligence.
Mulroney will go down in history as our greatest statesman prime minister because he had an acute understanding of the benefits of being a middle power, and he wielded that power deftly to lead on the world stage because he believed that Canadian leadership mattered in an uncertain world.
With the Soviet nuclear threat, the fall of the Berlin Wall, apartheid, and famine, the 1980s and early 1990s were tumultuous. Like ronald reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Mikhail Gorbachev, George h.w. Bush, François Mitterrand, helmut
Kohl and Pope John Paul II, Brian Mulroney was giant on the international stage during that period.
Mulroney strengthened Canada-u.s. relations through sheer force of personality. he developed close personal friendships in Washington — not only with conservative soulmates like reagan and Bush, but with liberals like Ted Kennedy. This allowed him to conclude landmark free trade and environmental agreements with the united States.
It was his government that persuaded the united Nations to launch what was the greatest single humanitarian relief effort in history: saving seven million Ethiopian lives. As well, at direct odds with our allies, Mulroney and his foreign minister Joe Clark took a very strong, principled and moral stand against the apartheid regime in South Africa. They were on the right side of history, and there is no better illustration of a middle power standing tall and using its influence for the betterment of mankind. If it were not for their resolve, Nelson Mandela might have died in prison.
In domestic policy, Mulroney made bold decisions that have had a positive and lasting impact on Canada. Through a combination of reduced program spending, new taxes and privatizations, he succeeded in steering Canada away from a fiscal cliff.
As he left office, Mulroney said, “I have always tried to do what I thought would be right for Canada in the long term, not what would be politically popular in the short term.”
Today, he does not appear ready to hang up his skates. he’s in the arena — still a believer in big, bold, betthe-house ideas stating, “Incrementalism builds increments. Bold initiatives build nations.” With COVID-19 forcing a public policy reboot, we should listen to what this former prime minister turned éminence grise is saying. Mulroney 2.0 is offering some of the boldest and freshest thinking in the country.