44th Parl. 1st Sess.

March 19, 2024 10:00AM

Context: House Hansard - 291 - Mar/19/24

Mr. Anthony Housefather (Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board, Lib.)

Mar/19/24 6:51:53 p.m.
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Madam Chair, it is a real honour to rise in the House to honour Brian Mulroney, who in every interaction I ever had with him, was a compassionate, intelligent and caring human being. I first met Mr. Mulroney when I had just graduated from law school and I went to Florida with my friend Jonathan Cohen. We were in Palm Beach, and Brian Mulroney was taking a walk down the path. The two of us saw the former prime minister, went up to him and told him that we were from Montreal. He looked at me and said, “Anthony Housefather, how are things going at Alliance Québec?” I was the president of this volunteer organization, and he knew who I was from having read about me once in the newspaper. That was how incredible this man's mind was and how sharp he was. He stopped and took 20 minutes to talk to me and my friend on the path in Palm Beach. That was so meaningful to me as a young lawyer. He offered advice and mentorship. Throughout his later career, when he went back to the practice of law at Ogilvy Renault, now Norton Rose, there were various times when we would get to speak to him. Each and every time, he offered such insight and compassion, and he was so interested in everything we were all doing. He would remember the things we would tell him about our lives, our families, what we were interested in and what our hopes were, and he would repeat them back to us the next time we saw him. He so loved to talk about his family members. He was so proud of them, whether it was his wife Mila, who he loved so dearly; Mark, who I know better than the other Mulroneys and who I think is a great and incredible guy; Ben; Caroline; or Nicolas. He was so proud of his family, and he had the right to be because they all emerged to be exemplary citizens of Canada. Brian Mulroney was such a good person. The reason I wanted to get up today is because so many Canadians are just in awe of a prime minister. Whether they love or hate him, he is different than an ordinary person. Of all of the things he accomplished in his life, including creating free trade with the United States, which he really was responsible for, as Ambassador David Cohen told us today at the observance to pay homage to Mr. Mulroney, the great relationship between Canada and the United States started with Brian Mulroney when he and Ronald Reagan held the Irish summit. Whether one did or did not agree with him, he always stood up for his principles. He always made a difference. He always cared. I am an anglophone from Quebec too, and I have to say that Brian Mulroney was an exemplary anglophone from Quebec because he spoke both languages fluently. Not only was he proficient in French, but he was also well-versed in Quebec culture. At a time when the two cultures did not mix, he was seen as someone who could switch between the two effortlessly. I want to finish by saying that, even in my last interaction with former Prime Minister Mulroney, he was such a compassionate human being. Last December, he saw me on television, and he could tell that I was upset about the government's vote at the UN on Israel. He took the time to call me on my cellphone to tell me how proud he was of me. That made all the difference. Right before Christmas, when I was feeling down, he brought me up. Rest in peace, Prime Minister Mulroney. You did so much for Canada. The whole country is in your debt.

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House Hansard - 291