National Post (National Edition)
Mulroney stood for freedom
Brian Mulroney is one Canadian prime minister (along with Stephen Harper) who I was fortunate enough to know quite well. The son of an electrician, he grew up in Baie-Comeau, Que., and rose to heights that few in this tight-knit, blue-collar community could ever have imagined. With hard work and dogged determination, he went on to become a successful lawyer, public servant and leader of our country.
Last Thursday, Mulroney died at the age of 84. Here are some of his accomplishments.
Maintaining a strong relationship with the United States was an important goal, a point which he reiterated in his 2011 book, Memoirs: “This special relationship of two great nations was based on shared fundamental values, liberty and democracy, and we have not hesitated to defend them from attack,” he wrote.
There have been moments of disagreement with our greatest ally, friend and trading partner, and Mulroney acknowledged that “no prime minister of Canada ... always got this relationship right.” At the same time, he noted that “if in the business world today, cash is king, in the world of the Canada-U.S. relationship, access is worth its weight in gold. It is a privilege that Canada should never squander or surrender.”
Mulroney accomplished this feat in several ways, including the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (signed 1988) and the Air Quality Agreement (signed 1991) that tackled acid rain and environmental pollution. He was fortunate to have a great friend and ally in then-president Ronald Reagan, who shared his Irish heritage, came from a similar working-class background and was a master of public speaking. He also had a solid working relationship with then-president George H.W. Bush, which helped lay the foundation for the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Mulroney would ultimately give powerful, memorable eulogies to Reagan and Bush. He spoke fondly of their leadership and stewardship; their commitment to defeating the scourge of communism and defending the cherished principles of democracy, liberty and freedom; their efforts to bring peace and prosperity to the world.
In each instance, he would end with an old 18th-century Irish proverb that perfectly encapsulated what each man meant to him: There are wooden ships,
There are sailing ships,
There are ships that sail the sea, But the best ships are friendships And may they always be.
Mulroney also fought against racism and injustice, which he witnessed in Canada and beyond. He had no tolerance for people who were clearly intolerant. He believed in the basic concept of social justice. Every person, from every walk of life, had value and worth in his eyes. They deserved to enjoy a wide range of personal liberties, including the freedom of religion, the freedom of speech and even the right to protest.
That's why he worked hard to end apartheid in South Africa. According to his speaking notes for the 1986 Commonwealth meeting in London, England, he said, “We must decide here to take initiatives/measures that will be helpful to achieving the ultimate objective: dismantling apartheid, securing freedom and justice for some 25 million ordinary people who are, like us all, simple children of God.”
In that same vein, Mulroney opposed antisemitism and always strongly defended Israel's right to self-preservation. “I viewed apartheid with the same degree of disgust that I attached to the Nazis — the authors of the most odious offence in modern history,” he wrote in Memoirs. “My strong and unswerving support of Israel and the Jewish community in Canada was based on this view.”
Mulroney also played a critical role, along with Harper, in establishing the building blocks of modern Canadian conservatism. The two men had different political visions and didn't always see eye-to-eye on issues. Nevertheless, they respected one another in spite of those ideological differences — and recognized the party and movement needed to head in a particular direction to achieve long-lasting electoral success.
Like Harper, Mulroney wanted to keep the Conservatives united and focused on beating the Liberals. He understood the big picture in politics, and proposed wide-ranging programs they believed would appeal to party loyalists and Canadian voters alike. Some of those policies succeeded, such as the introduction of GST, the privatizing of Crown corporations and the cutting of bureaucratic red tape. Others didn't.
Neither the Meech Lake accord nor the Charlottetown accord succeeded, but Mulroney tried hard in each and every instance. He also believed Canadians could accomplish great things on the international stage, and should never settle for second best.
What truly stood out about Mulroney was his presence.
He was a captivating, largerthan-life personality. Few individuals have ever commanded rooms and captivated audiences quite like him. When he spoke, you listened. When he told a story from his personal life, or political journey, you were engrossed in every detail. When the twinkle in his eye magically appeared as he told a joke, you couldn't help but laugh.
Here's the kicker: this was really him in public and private.
It wasn't forced. It wasn't fake. It wasn't part of an act. He was the genuine article.
A man from humble beginnings who loved his family. Who enjoyed the company of others. Who was a true gentleman in politics. Who cared about people and communities.
Who treated everyone, from royalty to the average citizen, exactly the same.
Requiescat in pace, my friend. You'll be greatly missed, but you will always be remembered with great fondness, admiration and, above all, respect.
HE WAS A CAPTIVATING, LARGERTHAN-LIFE PERSONALITY.