Sunday, March 24, 2024

Canada is re-thinking Mulroney today. And maybe Poilievre, too

Canada is buzzing about Brian Mulroney's funeral -- so many profound, moving and memorable moments: 
But life goes on, as Pierre Poilievre is going to find out -- he seemed to think the Mulroney funeral should be just another campaign stop, and Canada is not impressed: PP, you won't get a second chance to make a first impression on Canada. Everybody found you appalling: What did Mulroney think of Poilievre? 
When Mulroney praised Trudeau last summer, he didn't mention Poilievre at all:
Former prime minister Brian Mulroney mounted a defence of one of his successors Monday, saying Justin Trudeau has delivered on the "big ticket items" and history won't look kindly on Parliament Hill denizens who push "trash ... rumours" and "gossip."
Speaking at the Atlantic Economic Forum, a symposium at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, N.S., the former Progressive Conservative prime minister said the Liberal Trudeau has had a good run in office. He praised the government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, its renegotiation of NAFTA and its ongoing support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.
"I have learned over the years that history is unconcerned with the trivia and the trash of rumours and gossip floating around Parliament Hill. History is only concerned with the big ticket items that have shaped the future of Canada," Mulroney said.
He said Trudeau and the premiers "conducted themselves as well as anybody else in the world" in dealing with COVID, something Mulroney called "the greatest challenge that any prime minister has dealt with in Canada in 156 years."
On NAFTA, Mulroney said he saw first-hand how Trudeau made "big decisions at crucial moments" and won "a significant victory for Canada."
"It's due to the leadership that we saw from the government of Canada," Mulroney said. "This was secured despite (then U.S. president Donald Trump's) opposition. This was secured by Prime Minister Trudeau and his colleagues. Trump was out to sabotage Canada in many important ways and it took vision and a steady hand."
Mulroney's government first negotiated a free trade deal with the U.S. and then later a trilateral deal with Mexico.
Trudeau also leaned on Mulroney's expertise when going toe-to-toe with Trump in the 2017-20 period when the deal was restructured.
Mulroney said his government was the first to recognize Ukraine's independence from Russia as the Soviet Union disintegrated in the early 1990s.
It's important that Canada, a country with a large Ukrainian diaspora, supports Ukraine's fight against Russian tyranny, Mulroney said.
"Trump says, 'Well, I don't care who wins,'" Mulroney said. "I care who wins and the prime minister cares. And it has to be Ukrainians."
He also praised Trudeau's efforts to stimulate economic growth in Atlantic Canada. The region is richer and more populous than it has been in a long time, Mulroney said. Mulroney said historians won't dwell on the "nonsense" he said is emanating from Parliament right now.
Mulroney didn't specify what he regarded as "nonsense."...
Rest in peace.
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1 comment:

e.a.f. said...

Not only is PP a nasty bit of business but he doesn't have any manners, you know the type your parental units taught you. OMG, if that man becomes P.M. it will not reflect well on Canada when he appears at world events. If he can't even behave at a funeral, just think of how he would behave at other events. State funerals for a former P.M. or President, or King or Queen are not places you start to talk business or politics.
Saw part of Grezky's speech where he said he was proud to be a Canadian

3:10 am

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