Noteworthy: Mulroney was an honourable man, even if some didn’t like him

By Bruce Penton on March 6, 2024.

Brian Mulroney isn’t in my top three of favourite prime ministers, but I always thought he was an honourable, likable man with big ideas.

Hard to believe that at one point in the early 1990s, he was so despised for a variety of reasons – introduction of the GST, Meech Lake and a few others – that his Progressive Conservative Party was reduced to two seats in Canada. That was after he resigned as leader, of course, and had turned the Titanic over to Kim Campbell.

It is Campbell’s name designated in the history books as leader of the two-seat embarrassment, but she certainly didn’t deserve the blame. While two seats was a definite low for the Tories, it was Mulroney who led his party to a record 211 seats in the 1984 election. Mulroney died last week at the age of 84 and my fondest remembrances of him involve crafting the free-trade agreement with the U.S. and singing Irish songs with Ronald Reagan. He may not have robbed Canadians of a better society, but he did rob the cradle; he was 34 and his wife Mila only 19 when they married.

â€¢ Many Hatters have been to Havre, a city of about 9,000 people a short ride into Montana after one passes through the Wild Horse border crossing. And most sports-minded Hatters have heard of Brett Favre, the longtime NFL quarterback whose best days were with the Green Bay Packers. So why is Havre pronounced with two syllables, ‘Hav-er’, while Favre is pronounced with the single syllable ‘Farve’? The only thing different in their names is the first letter, so there’s no reason the pronunciations should be so different.

â€¢ Another Axios suggestion on ways to live to be 100: “Think positive.Â The world’s oldest living person, American-born Spaniard Maria Branyas Morera, insists she’s 116 because she always looks on the bright side. It’s more than wishful thinking: A study of nearly 160,000 U.S. women ages 50 to 79 found that those who scored highest for optimism were 10 per cent more likely to live beyond 90.”

â€¢ Fiscal restraint is certainly an admirable approach, and if Premier Danielle Smith is worried about reduced resource revenue cutting into Alberta’s bank accounts, then being careful about spending is the way to go. The only concern is where will the fiscal restraint show up? Health-care cuts? Education cuts? Highway spending cuts? How about starting with an MLA salary cut and then go from there? Trimming 10 per cent from MLAs’ salaries would be such a small drop in the bucket that it would make little or no impact on Alberta’s fiscal situation, but it would be a tremendous example to set.

â€¢ Canada’s favourite coffee shop, Tim Hortons, is marking its 60th anniversary this year and the iconic Canadian company is going all out to make the anniversary a big deal during its Roll Up To Win contest. Besides the usual array of prizes like free coffees, doughnuts, gift cards and the occasional car, this year’s prize lineup includes more cars, a boat, cruises, vacations and smart phones. Also up for grabs is a daily $10,000 cash prize. There are nearly 4,000 Tim Hortons restaurants across Canada. All the action ends March 31.

â€¢ Short snappers: In 1980, women held 13 per cent of the highest-paying jobs in the country. Today, that number is 35 per cent. … The most ridiculous thing I read last week was that VIP tickets for Taylor Swift concerts have been going for as much as $50,000. … Planetary geologist Bob Craddock says that without the ‘leap day’ every four years on Feb. 29, our summers would become winters and vice-versa, messing everything up. An earth’s orbit takes six hours more than 365 days, hence the need for Feb. 29 every four years. … March is Kidney Disease Awareness Month. And yes, I’m aware of the problems associated with kidney disease, as I lost a brother-in-law last week because of it. Various kidney walks across Canada this year hope to raise $1.3 million. … With last weekend’s snowfall, can we safely say that March came in like a lion and will go out like a lamb? If so, it could be an early start to the golf season in Medicine Hat. … Who will be the first Alberta premier to institute a sales tax? â€¦ Political prediction: Justin Trudeau will not be the Liberal Party leader when the next federal election is held. … Defendants’ former strategy: Deny, deny, deny. Today, it’s delay, delay, delay.