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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 291

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 19, 2024 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 291 - Mar/19/24
Mr. Greg McLean (Calgary Centre, CPC)
  • Mar/19/24 9:21:27 p.m.
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Madam Chair, it is my sad honour to rise today in Canada's highest democratic institution to pay respects to a great man, the Right Hon. Brian Mulroney, Canada's 18th Prime Minister. A great man has passed. Time waits for no one. We honour him and reflect on his life and all that he has done. For many of his great accomplishments, we, a generation of Canadians, are the beneficiaries. First and foremost, in service to his country here and elsewhere, he helped build and strengthen our nation. Dividing us was not his path. He built us up. I recall serving his government here over three decades ago, and I will recount to members on all sides of the House what Ottawa and eastern Ontario looked like before Brian Mulroney's time as our prime minister. Buildings had been boarded up. Architectural landmarks, like the Elgin Hotel, were closed and poised for demolition. Neighbouring towns in eastern Ontario were lobbying for government jobs, because the unemployment rate was so high and people had little hope. Opening a prison meant that at least some people would get jobs. The unemployment in the area reached 12.5%. Such was the economic malaise this region faced in 1984. To paint a clearer picture of the country at that time, government spending was out of control. The latest budget posted a massive $37-billion deficit, which is about $98 billion in today's inflated dollars, a record at the time. Inflation had only recently fallen from 12.5% with the introduction of wage and price controls imposed primarily on employees by the federal government. The Canadian dollar had fallen in value by 25% over the previous decade. Our armed forces were underfunded and demoralized, and our international commitments went unmet. We were a nation desperately in need of leadership. Nature abhors a vacuum. Just when this country most needed a leader, a determined man stepped forward. Martin Brian Mulroney, the son of a hard-working electrician in Baie-Comeau, in Quebec, a labour lawyer and well-known business leader in Montreal, had become the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada a year earlier. He showed that he had bold plans for the country, and Canadians rewarded him with the largest majority government in Canadian history in the 1984 election. He was ambitious, he did not shy away from complex problems, and he did not worry about doing too much, because he had a lot of work to do. One of the people who worked for him at the start of his time in government told me that they worked hard because he worked hard, and they felt that, if they did not succeed, the country was at stake. His leadership saw successes, and it saw failures. No one likes to fail, least of all those who possess ambition to do great things. Failures feel personal, but in the end they are overwhelmed by the successes. This is one of the marks of true leadership. “Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.” That is a quote from Nelson Mandela, a man whose life Brian Mulroney would change. I recall the 1988 election, when he was campaigning on free trade. His opponent, the Right Hon. John Turner, had landed a blow during the English-language debate, and polls suddenly shifted against our direction. Undaunted, Brian Mulroney took up the fight the next day and led the campaign across the nation. He said that the fight of John Turner's life was to tear up that document, but he fight of his life was to build a country. Canadians reward leadership. Let us celebrate the Right Hon. Brian Mulroney's life by acknowledging his successes: restarting Canada's economy; privatizing Crown corporations; rebuilding Canada's armed forces; building trade alliances that once made North America the largest trading bloc in the world; reforming a broken tax system; healing divisions in Canada's federation; indigenous advancement with the forming of Nunavut as Canada's third territory; striking environmental treaties to address acid rain in North America and to end worldwide emissions associated with the world's thinning ozone layer; leading the world in confronting South Africa's apartheid system, resulting in the freedom of one of the world's great statesmen, Nelson Mandela; standing shoulder to shoulder with Canada's allies as the world changed; and earning Canada's position on the international stage and joining our peers in organizations like the G7. Take on no small tasks, so to say. His ministers and his caucus followed him and emulated his ambition and his work ethic. Those of us who had the privilege of working for him and his ministers felt that compelling requirement to do our utmost to get it right. Leadership is about inspiration, and the generation of Canadians whom Brian Mulroney inspired watched and learned. For a while emulating that example led this country to greatness in many ways. Most Canadians knew him as a politician, and politics is a team sport. Our team has to win in order for us to move forward. Nevertheless, his treatment of all those contributing to Canada's public life was magnanimous. His was an example from which we have much to learn. Let us look at the legacy of political, economic and social leaders in Canada over the decades that followed the political leadership of Brian Mulroney. So many people had a connection with him. These relationships were special to him. His kindness was legendary. I remember seeing him at the funeral of the Hon. Jean Corbeil, one of the ministers I served. I remember the people he brought with him. Brian Mulroney said they deserved to be there because he was the leader of a special team. Two years ago I was talking with a friend, someone who has helped me on my political path. We were comparing the qualities of leaders in Canada, and I referred to the qualities of the former prime minister. My friend retorted, “Come on; that was Mulroney,” as if it was an example that illustrates itself, kind of like drafting Wayne Gretzky in a hockey pool. He was a man who came a long way from his roots in a Quebec mill town to lead a country, and lead us well, and to change the world in a very positive way. Today, we lament with his family and friends, but we are lucky to have had him in our midst. Now, we wish him a safe final journey in eternal rest, from a very grateful nation. Rest in peace, Martin Brian Mulroney.
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