Brian Mulroney

the very honourable Martin Brian Mulroney , C.P., D.C., G.O.Q B.A., LL.L, (born the March 20th 1939) is a lawyer and a Canadian politician . He was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada, of the September 17th 1984 with the June 25th 1993. He is remained appointed of Charlevoix until September 1993.

Born with Bay-Comeau (Quebec), Brian Mulroney became Prime Minister after its Parti progressist-conservative gained the greatest number of parliamentary seats in the history of Canada. At the time, Mulroney was a single case in Canadian policy, not having never been a politician of career. A business man of long time, it launched out in the race to the direction of the Party progressist-conservative like a outsider , without any political experiment, and gained the victory. He left an ambiguous and complex heritage, but it is undeniable that its period with the capacity was one of change drastic.

Beginnings

Born from an electrician of paper mill, it made its secondary studies in a catholic boarding school with Chatham, with the New Brunswick, managed by the university St Thomas. It obtained a diploma of the university Saint Francis Xavier in Antigonish, in Nova Scotia. It then obtained a diploma in right of the Université Laval, with Quebec. After its graduation, it joint at a lawyer firm Montreal ease. The May 26th 1973, it married Mila Pivnicki, girl of Yugoslav immigrants (Serbes). Mulroney have four children: Nicolas, Mark, Ben and Caroline.

Brian Mulroney had never been elected; however, he worked for the Party progressist-conservative during years. In 1976, it launched out in the race to the direction, but was overcome by Joe Clark. Following this defeat, Mulroney off accepted the post of executive vice-president of Iron Ore Company Canada, a subsidiary company of three American major steel-works. In 1977, it was named president of the company.

In 1983, the leadership of Joe Clark started to be called in question. Mulroney organized the defeat of Clark to a vote of confidence; when Clark accepted the support of less than 67% of delegated to the congress of the party, he resigned of the direction, thus launching a race with the cheffery. Brian Mulroney stood as candidate again, and made countryside more astutely than in 1976. He was elected chief of the party the June 11th 1983, demolishing Clark with the fourth turn. He attracted supports of several factions different from the party, particularly among the delegates of the Quebec, his native province. After having gained a by-election in the district Nova Scotian of Nova Exchange, Mulroney made its entry with the House of Commons of Canada, with Ottawa, the August 26th 1983. When the Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau took his retirement in June 1984, the Liberal party of Canada chooses John Turner like new chief. Turner started general elections in September. Mulroney marked points during the televised debate when it attacked Turner for designations of patronage which it had made for Trudeau. Ironically, Turner had planned to attack Mulroney for the machine of patronage that this last had planned additional clause a victory, but Mulroney succeeds in directing the attention on the nominations of Turner. Many observers recognized that it was a revolving point of the election campaign.

The progressist-conservatives gained strongest Parliamentary majority in the history of the Canada, gaining 211 seats out of 282. Moreover, they were in advance in all the provinces, emerging like a national party for the first time since the election of 1958.

Prime Minister

Domestic policy

One of the major tasks to which the government of Mulroney was attacked was an attempt to solve the thorny question of the national unit. Mulroney wanted to include the Quebec in a new agreement with the remainder of Canada. Quebec was the only province not to have signed the new Canadian Constitution negotiated by Pierre Trudeau in 1982. Moreover, good number of inhabitants of Quebec believed since years that they deserved a statute distinct from the remainder of Canada under the terms of their culture, their language and their history, and a independence movement had largely developed during the years 1960 and 1970.

In 1987, Mulroney negotiated the Accord of the lake Meech, a series of constitutional amendments aiming at meeting the Québécois requirements for their recognition as a " company distincte" inside Canada, with provincial the Prime Ministers. However, good number of English Canadian were opposed to the agreement, and it was not ratified by the provincial governments of the Manitoba and Newfoundland in time for the expiry of 1990.

This failure contributed to an increase of the movement souverainist in Quebec, and led to a new round of negotiations to Charlottetown, with the Island-of-Prince-Edouard, in 1991 and 1992. These negotiations were confined of the Accord of Charlottetown, which brought important changes to the constitution, including the recognition of Quebec like a distinct company. However, the agreement was demolishes in a national referendum in October 1992.

Throughout its mandate, Mulroney tried to cross in the budget deficit which reached the billion dollars. However, it never succeeds in eliminating it, and the national debt increased to a significant degree during its years with the capacity. Its attempts to cross in the national expenditure limited its capacity to respect many electoral promises.

The world recession with the beginning of the year 1990 contributed to worsen the financial position of the government. Its incapacity to improve finances of the government, like its use of tax and increases of taxation to cure the situations contributed to alienate to him most of its base of supports among the conservatives of the western.

Mulroney tried to be reconciled with the provinces of the west, which had been crucial with its electoral success. It cancelled the national energy Programme and inclua a strong representation of the west in its cabinet. However, it does not succeed there completely, even without taking account of its economic policies and constitutional.

Another priority of the Mulroney government was the privatization of the many Canadian companies of states. In 1984 the Canadian government held 61 different companies of state. It sold 23 in the 10 following years of them. Some were very large, like Air Canada, the Compagnie of the national railroads of Canada and Petro-Canada.

Air Canada had been completely privatisé in 1989, though the '' Loi on the public participation in the capital of Air Canada '' continued to subject the airline company to certain requirements. For example, the company must keep its head office with Montreal, the participation of foreign interests is limited, and it must continue to provide its services in English and French. At the same time, the air regulations were liberalized, allowing inter alia a greater access to the American market .

In 1990, the government announced its plans for the privatization of Petro-Canada. The bill on privatization passed, and the July 3rd 1991, the first actions were sold with the public. Certain rules continued to apply to the company: no other shareholder could control more than 10% of the company, and the percentage of the company which can be held by foreign interests was limited to 25%. During the decade which followed, the government gradually sold its own share of the company; the last actions were sold in 2004 under Paul Martin.

The final privatization of Canadian National was supplemented only in 1995, when the government of Jean Chrétien voted the last bill. The government of Mulroney held a referendum in the Territoires of the North-West on the question of the creation of a new territory called Nunavut, formed of the Eastern portion of the Territories of the North-West. Nunavut gives a certain autonomy to the Inuit people, majority in this territory. The population of the Territories of the North-West voted " oui" , and Nunavut was creates in 1999.

The conservative government proposed the creation of a national fee on the sales, the Taxe on the products and services, in 1989. When it was introduced in 1991, it replaced the Tax on the manufacturing sales which before was applied to the level of the large one to all the products manufactured in Canada. Although the government insisted that it was not an increase in taxes, but only one displacement of those, the highly visible nature of the tax was extremely unpopular.

In 1990, Mulroney named a former minister of its cabinet, Ray Hnatyshyn, at the station of General governor.

The decline of stocks of Morue in Atlantic Canada carried out the Mulroney government to impose a moratorium on the fishing of cod, putting an end to most of the fishing industry Newfoundlander, which created very difficult times for the economy of the area. The government founded several programs with an aim of decreasing these harmful effects, but enormously lost popularity in the Seaboard provinces.

Of catholic confession, Brian Mulroney expressed her party taken in favor of mouvmement the pro-choice.

Foreign politics

During its mandate of Prime Minister, the close relationship which Brian Mulroney with the president maintained the the United States Ronald Reagan was to him of an immense help to conclude the ratification of a agreement of free trade with the United States, according to which all the customs tariffs between the two countries would be eliminated for 1998. Some critical noted that Mulroney had declared its opposition to free trade during the race with the direction of the party of 1983. The agreement was very discussed, and was the principal stake of the election of 1988, during which the party of Mulroney was re-elected with a second strong parliamentary majority (with, however, only 43% of the popular vote). This liberalization of trade took expansion in 1992 with the Accord of North-American free trade (ALÉNA), signed by Canada, the United States and the Mexico.

The government of Mulroney actively opposed the mode Apartheid in South Africa. This policy of Mulroney put it in conflict with the governments American and British, but a large respect ensured him elsewhere.

Mulroney supported the coalition during the war of the gulf of 1991, sending Canadian jets to take part in it. In August, it sent two destroyers, the HMCS Terra Nova and the HMCS Athabaskan to impose the embargo against the Iraq. The ship of supply HMCS Protecteur was also sent to help the forces of the coalition. When UNO fully authorized the use of the force in the operation, Canada sent a flotilla of CF-18 with personnel of support. Canada also sent a ship-hospital to look after the victims on the ground.

When the war began, the Canadian planes were integrated into the forces of the coalition and provided an aerial cover, like attacking targets on the ground. It was the first time since the Guerre of Korea which the Canadian forces took part in operations of combat.

Another major initiative was the signature of an agreement on the acid rains with the United States.

Under the government of Mulroney, the Minister for the external businesses, Joe Clark, was the first Foreign Minister to be landed in Ethiopia, isolated before, to carry out the Western answer to the Ethiopian famine of 1984 - 1985. Clark went to Addis-Abeba so quickly that he had not even seen the report of the CBC which had caused the strong initial public reaction; the Canadian answer was enormous and brought the the United States and the Great Britain to follow the step almost immediately - a situation without precedent at the time, since Ethiopia had before been a unit State Marxist and had been completely insulated by the Western governments.

The government adopted a strongly opposite policy with the intervention with the Nicaragua under Reagan, and accepted refugees coming from the El Salvador and of the Guatemala, as well as other countries with modes directly supported by the Reagan administration.

Reprocess

Even if Mulroney had succeeded in preserving its parliamentary majority in 1988, the very widespread resentment of the public caused by TPS, the fracturing of its political coalition, the economic recession and its failure to solve the constitutional situation of the Quebec were as many factors which explain the marked decline of its popularity. He announced his resignation of the posts of head of the Party progressist-conservative and Prime Minister of Canada in February 1993, and was replaced by Kim Campbell in June of this same year. Mulroney was strongly criticized during its last days in station to have undertaken luxurious “a round of good-bye”, mainly with the expenses of the taxpayers. Mulroney remained in station almost until the end of five years the maximum mandate permitted by the constitution, meaning that its successor was to only face an general election in a few months. This granted little time to Campbell to try to save the reputation in scraps of the progressist-conservatives.

The dissatisfaction with the public towards the Mulroney government was expressed in 1993 by the voters in a verdict as much devastator that undeniable: the oldest political party in Canada was tiny room to only two seats, worst defeat at the polls in the history of Canada. The progressist-conservatives continued to exist slightly during a few years with a handle of members, finding their statute of official party, but amalgamating ultimement with the Canadian Alliance to form new the Conservative party of Canada.

After the policy

Since its departure of the policy, Mulroney had a very lucrative career as a lawyer at Ogilvy Renault and a consultant of international businesses. Its experiments as a Prime Minister, like his attempts at reconciliation enters the provinces of the West and Quebec like its close relationship with the old US president George H.W. Bush, were useful to him well.

In January 2004, Mulroney delivered a keynote speech to Washington DC, at the time of the tenth birthday of the Agreement of North-American free trade.

In June 2004, it presented a funeral praise for the old US president Ronald Reagan at the time of the funeral of state of this last. Mulroney and the former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was the first foreign dignitaries to pronounce funeral praises for the funeral of US president (Thatcher, though it was present for the ceremonies, could not deliver his speech itself because of health issues; its praise was delivered by recording.)

In February 2005, Mulroney was diagnosed of a lesion to a lung. In its youth, he had been a very heavy smoker. He undergoes a successful surgery and is restored sufficiently to record a speech for the 2900 delegated to the inaugural congress of new the Conservative party of Canada to Montreal, in March 2005, although he was not in a position to assist to with it in person. Although it was affirmed initially that its surgery had proceeded without complications, he suffered later from a pancréatite and was hospitalized for several weeks. It is only on April 19th that his/her son, Ben Mulroney, announced that it was in the process of re-establishment and that it would leave soon the hospital.

Mulroney played a minor part in the scandal which was declared when Belinda Stronach, appointed preserving of the district of Newmarket-Aurora, made defection towards the Liberal party of Canada and was immediately named Minister for human Resources. Stronach claimed that Mulroney had supported it in its step. However, the sénatrice Marjory LeBreton, speaking in the name of Mulroney, indicated that Mulroney had initially refused to take the calls of Stronach. When he finally agree to speak to him, the former Prime Minister expressed his gratitude for the friendship of Stronach, but condemned his defection without call.

The September 12th 2005, the famous writer and former confidant of Mulroney, Peter C. Newman, published The Secret Mulroney Tapes: Unguarded Confessions off a prime Minister . Based mainly on conversations with the former Prime Minister whom it had recorded with the assent of this last, the book started a national controversy. Newman had decided to publish the recordings according to the refusal of Mulroney to respect a former agreement with Newman, according to which this last would write a great volume over its years with the capacity, which led to a cooling of the relations between the two men; Mulroney had projected to write itself its autobiography, without the assistance of Newman. Mulroney itself declared that it had shown bad judgment while being expressed so openly in front of the journalist, but it says that it will have from now on to live with.

Mulroney retorted with a dinner of press, the October 22nd 2005 with a speech minimalist, though effective. The former Prime Minister appeared on recording and very formally thanked the various dignitaries and groups for guests before delivering the shortest speech of the evening: " Peter Newman: get stuffed. Thank you. Good nuit."

Mulroney currently sits on the board of directors of several companies, including Barrick Gold and Quebecor Inc..

Mulroney-Schreiber business

In 1997, Mulroney by amicable agreement regulated a lawsuit for slandering which it had brought with the government of Canada, in an original manner for 50 million $. It disputed the allegations which it had accepted of the bribes in " the Airbus" business; concerning contracts of the government. Mulroney was refunded for 2 million $ in lawyer expenses. The government declared that the allegations could not be confirmed.

William Kaplan, Historian and former law professor, speaks about paid sums with Mulroney by the business man canado-German Karlheinz Schreiber in its book has Secret Trial , published in 2004 by the university press of McGill-Queens. Shreiber would have poured 100.000 $ with Brian Mulroney out of cash little time after this last resigned of the post of Prime Minister, and 200.000 $ of more during the two following years. Schreiber itself touched for several million dollars in committee connected to the sale of the Airbus jets to Air Canada, which started one of the largest scandals in the German political history. Schreiber currently fights against its extradition in Germany to face charges of fraud there. He claims that he could start an immense political scandal in Canada if he were one day to reveal what he knows.

The November 21st 2007, Luc Lavoie, the spokesperson of Mr. Mulroney, indicates in the newspaper Ottawa Citizen that this last actually accepted 100.000$ out of cash whereas it remained appointed of Charlevoix. According to Mr. Lavoie, Mr. Mulroney, who recognizes this error that it describes itself as colossal into private, would have accepted this money because it had a family to make live and that he was not a rich man, however “ this same father bought a superb house in Westmount-in-high-of-the-mountain of 1,6 million at the same time ” and, always in 1993, he became senior partner within the law firm Ogilvy Renault. No relative question with these payments not having been posed with Mr. Mulroney by the police officers at the time of their investigation, it would have revealed anything on this subject at this time.

Which Mulroney services would it have returned in Schreiber to deserve the money? Mulroney claims that it was for introductions for the company of pastes of Schreiber. Mulroney affirms that it is completely clean in this business, and that it even declared the money received and that it paid the taxes of them. He declared under oath that its relation with Schreiber was only " périphérique". Kaplan says that testimony was evasive, incomplete and induced in error, but he concludes that he did not constitute a perjury. He adds that it there forever have any piece of evidence to indicate that Mulroney was implied in the decision to buy the Airbus planes. To date, of many relative questions to the Airbus business remain without answer.

Honors

1998 - Companion of the Order of Canada.

2002 - Large officer of the National order of Quebec
2002 - Medal Glory of Escolle

Legacy

Following the example several former national leaders, Mulroney seems to be very worried by the way in which the history will perceive it. He pleads that its policies on the economy and free trade, formerly considered to be radical, were never reversed by the governments which succeeded to him. Mulroney considers this as the proof that they were justified.

Two of its most discussed decisions were the Accord of free trade canado-American in 1989 and the introduction of the Taxe on the products and services. Although the tories were re-elected in 1988 following a campaign centered on free trade (mainly thanks to the supports of the Quebec and the Western Canadian), they collected only 43% of the popular vote, compared with 56% which went to the Liberal party of Canada and with the Nouveau Democratic party which made countryside against free trade. (It should be noted that free trade was not the only stake of the countryside; the surveys of the time showed that the majority of Canadian supported free trade).

Several environmentalists, activists social, nationalist, trade-union chiefs and members of the cultural communities continue to complain about the pled injustices to which Canada faces because of free trade. Free trade is not a died subject, but at summer relegated to the secondary plan behind of other stakes like the health care, the Protocole of Kyoto, the register of the firearms, the care with the children, the taxes, the Fiscal imbalance and the Atlantic Accord.

The provocative nature of the Tax on the products and services was very unpopular. The TPS was created for two reasons: to help to eliminate the growing deficit, and to replace the tax on the manufacturing sales, a hidden tax which, according to Mulroney, wounded the economy.

The intense unpopularity of Mulroney at the time of its resignation carried out several preserving politicians to be outdistanced of him during several years. Mulroney started to position, at the end of the years 1990, like a elder statesman , but this perception is not shared universally. The former first Ontarian liberal minister David Peterson, which was held at the sides of Mulroney throughout the debates on the Accord of the lake Meech, declared that it would never make confidence with the former Prime Minister. " He is a pathological liar, known as Peterson. In all justice, I do not believe that it knows that it lies… one cannot nothing take of but it says for money. Its essential Achilles' heel, these is the balivernes that it raconte." ( He has pathological liar. In fairness, I don' T believe He knows he' S lying… you couldn' T take anything He said At been worth face. His essential Achilles heel is his baloney. ) Many Canadian still sees it like an element of division.

The social conservatives as well reproached things Mulroney. Inter alia, they reproach him its opposition to the Capital punishment, with the prohibition of the Avortement, its increases of taxation and its inaction to restrict the expansion of the tendencies etatists of the government, like his political patronage. Because of its positions on these questions, Mulroney was with the eyes of the conservatives a Red Tory (although the majority of the red tories are not in agreement with this point of view); for most of its career, it was moderated enough to be électable with the size of Canada. The chiefs of the parties reformists and alliancists are more often associated with the Blue Tories on the social questions and tax, which solidified their supports in Alberta and in the Western, but so far prevented them from making significant profits in Ontario, with the Quebec and in the Seaboard provinces (formerly of the preserving fortresses).

The negative vision of the Mulroney heritage began when it was replaced as Prime Minister and a chief of the progressist-conservatives by the Minister for defense, Kim Campbell. It essuya a spectacular defeat at the polls with the elections of 1993. Many rejected the blame on Mulroney, not only with causes of its unpopular policies, but also because it remained in station almost until the limit of its mandate, resigning at the last minute in 1993 when an election should be started as soon as possible, leaving little time with Campbell to consolidate the party. The Canadian political line had split up during the Mulroney years. Several veterans of the cabinet and the caucus gave up presenting themselves again to the elections. The conservatives of the West left the Party progressist-conservative to join new the Parti reformist, and the tories Québécois left to join the Québécois Bloc and the Liberal party. This fragmentation contributed to the defeat of the Party progressist-conservative, making of him a marginal actor to the House of Commons. The Canadian line was reunified only in December 2003, during the fusion of the progressist-conservatives with the Canadian Alliance (successor of the Party reformist) to form the Conservative party of Canada.

Mulroney played an influential part by supporting fusion; at the time, the former leaders progressist-conservatives like Joe Clark and Kim Campbell were either opposite, or ambivalent there.

Mulroney was also attacked for its relation with the United States by Jean Chrétien, which however maintained the close relationships with Bill Clinton. Christian criticized Mulroney for his friendly relations with Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. He is member of Bilderberg.

Quotation

" The true leadership is often the antithesis of the popularité."

References

External bonds

Brian Mulroney: The top and anything else — Files of Radio-Canada
Martin Brian Mulroney — Library and Files Canada
Quotation about Canada
Biographical note of the Library of the Parliament of Canada

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