Former prime minister Brian Mulroney’s three sons thanked Canadians and federal political leaders for the outpouring of support they’ve received since their father’s death late last month.
Ben, Mark and Nicholas Mulroney spoke briefly to reporters after the House of Commons officially commemorated the life and legacy of the late Conservative stalwart. Their sister Caroline and mother Mila joined them in the gallery for the speeches that paid tribute to the man Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called “one of the lions of Canadian politics”
Mark said listening in reminded them of what their father loved about politics.
“And for us sitting up in the gallery, hearing everybody speak so positively — probably not what he was used to — but he would have loved it and we did as well,” he said with a laugh.
“He enjoyed every minute of the back and forth parliamentary process, the debate. And seeing it today, seeing how it was, we obviously understand what drew him here, but what also he loved about it.”
WATCH | Brian Mulroney’s sons react to MPs’ tributes to their father
Brian Mulroney’s sons react to MPs’ tributes to their father
2 hours ago
Duration 1:34
Ben, Mark and Nicolas Mulroney say they are thankful for the tributes to their father in the House of Commons. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and Bloc Québécois MP Louis Plamondon all honoured former prime minister Brian Mulroney with speeches on Monday.
Nicholas Mulroney, who was born during his father’s time at 24 Sussex, said it was “incredibly humbling” to hear from friends and former foes.
“Being the youngest member of the family, this is certainly not something I grew up used to and especially for the grandkids, they get to see and experience something so special,” he said.
“We’re truly honoured from people across the country and internationally that have taken the time to reach out to say nice things and words of support. I just want to thank everybody on behalf of the family.”
The family was in Ottawa for the start of a week of remembrance, culminating in the state funeral in Montreal on Saturday.
When Mulroney died on Feb. 29 at the age of 84, the House of Commons suspended operations before going on a pre-planned two-week break.
MPs returned Monday on a sombre note as leaders and MPs rose to pay tribute to Canada’s 18th prime minister.
Trudeau reminisced about one of his last encounters with Mulroney at his alma mater, St. Francis Xavier University, when they toured Mulroney Hall last year.
WATCH | Party leaders pay tribute to Brian Mulroney
Party leaders pay tribute to Brian Mulroney
2 hours ago
Duration 3:49
Federal party leaders stood in the House of Commons Monday to honour the legacy of former prime minister Brian Mulroney ahead of the state funeral, to be held on Saturday.
Trudeau said that as they walked together through a replica of the prime minister’s Centre Block office, they reflected on the “wisdom that he and my dad both shared, that leadership, fundamentally, is about getting the big things right, no matter what your political stripe or your style.”
“He wouldn’t let himself succumb to temporary pressure. He was motivated by service. And those things, those big things, have stood the test of history four decades and counting,” he said.
Mulroney’s Progressive Conservatives governed Canada from 1984 to 1993. He won two majority governments and steered Canada through several consequential policy decision points, including free trade with the United States, the end of the Cold War and the introduction of the GST.
“He had the wisdom to understand that the best way to fight back was to embrace our friends,” said Trudeau, who leaned on Mulroney when free trade negotiations were reopened with the Donald Trump administration.
“Brian Mulroney’s principles helped shape this nation, and the world, for the better, and we will all continue that work.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre opened his remarks by describing Mulroney’s humble origin as the son of a paper mill electrician in the forestry town of Baie-Comeau, Que.
“I was just becoming aware there was such a thing as prime minister when he had that job. And like millions of young people from similar backgrounds, we looked to him and said — if the Irish son of a working-class electrician from a mill town can rise to become prime minister, then in this country, anyone from anywhere can do anything,” Poilievre said to general applause.
Mulroney family members take part in a moment of silence prior to tributes to the late prime minister Brian Mulroney in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, March 18, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)
He also spoke of Mulroney’s famous personal touch, telling a story about meeting a mechanic in Ottawa whose father was a miner with the Iron Ore Company of Canada, when Mulroney served as its president.
Poilievre said that decades later, when the mechanic’s father died, Mulroney called the family,
“That is kindness. That is humility,” he said
Poilievre said Mulroney elevated phone conversations to “an art form.”
“Using the telephone the way Michelangelo may have used a chisel or a brush, he would do it to make business deals, charm foreign leaders, and more importantly to comfort grieving or suffering friends,” said Poilievre.
“He would console, joke, or even throw in the odd curse about the unfairness of it all and his friends’ turmoil melted into the astonishment that one of the country’s greatest prime ministers had offered love and laughter.”
‘He can charm the birds out of the trees’: May
One of the people who received one of those phone calls was Elizabeth May, who worked as a policy adviser to Mulroney’s environment minister before becoming leader of the federal Green Party.
“I’d love to tell you what he said … he’s so darn funny, but I really can’t repeat it,” she told the House.
“There’s no real way to explain how he can charm the birds out of the trees. He sure as heck could.”
She praised the former prime minister for ushering in one of the world’s most successful environmental treaties, the Montreal Protocol.
“Brian Mulroney quite literally saved all life on earth when Canada stood up and launched the Montreal Protocol and saved the ozone layer,” she said.
“Let us continue to try to meet that example of a good-hearted, kind-spirited, generous and brilliant Canadian.”
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh also applauded the former Progressive Conservative leader’s environmental record, his campaign against racial apartheid in South Africa and his respect for the role of journalists.
“Prime Minister Mulroney will be remembered as someone who took big chances while he was in office,” he said. “While there are great many issues, of course, he and I would not agree on, I want to acknowledge the legacy he leaves behind after a long career of dedicated public service.
“At a time of more heightened divisions, where some political leaders try to score points by pitting one group of people against another, Mr. Mulroney will be remembered as someone who tried to build unity.”
Bloc Quebecois MP Louis Plamondon, who was elected as an MP in Mulroney’s party the year he became prime minister, said he will be remembered as a great Canadian and a great Quebecer.
“He loved Mila, his wife and lifelong companion. He was so proud of his children and he cherished his role as a grandfather,” he said in French.
State funeral this Saturday
Mulroney will lie in state on Tuesday and Wednesday in Ottawa near Parliament Hill. Gov. Gen. Mary Simon and Trudeau are set to offer condolences to the Mulroney family Tuesday morning.
His casket will then travel to Montreal ahead of the state funeral at St. Patrick’s Basilica on Saturday.
His daughter Caroline, longtime friend and colleague Jean Charest and hockey star Wayne Gretzky will deliver the eulogies.
The funeral ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. ET and is expected to last two hours.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
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