Day: March 19, 2024

ICYMI: Progressive Conservative PM of Canada for nine years who was a leading opponent of apartheid and an early environmentalist

Brian Mulroney, who has died aged 84, was both loved and reviled in his nine years as prime minister of Canada. A dealmaker who learned his political skills as a party organiser and labour lawyer before he ran for public office, Mulroney won back-to-back majority governments in the 1980s as leader of the Progressive Conservative party. He took office in 1984 in a landslide victory, but saw his popularity plummet by the early 1990s.

As prime minister, he raised his country’s international profile. A leading opponent of the apartheid regime in South Africa, he persuaded both Margaret Thatcher and the US president Ronald Reagan to support sanctions against the country, which led to the dismantling of apartheid and Nelson Mandela’s release from prison. He was also recognised as an early environmentalist, signing an acid rain treaty with the US in 1991. Continue reading…
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Parliamentary motion from New Democratic party passed with support of Liberals, Bloc Québécois and Green party

Canada will halt future arms sales to Israel following a non-binding vote in the house of commons. The foreign affairs minister, Mélanie Joly, told the Toronto Star her government would halt future arms shipments. “It is a real thing,” she said on Tuesday.

The decision follows a parliamentary motion, introduced by the New Democratic party (NDP), that called on the governing Liberals to halt future arms exports to Israel. The New Democrats, who are supporting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s minority government, have expressed frustration with what they see as his failure to do enough to protect civilians in Gaza. Continue reading…
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