He is Still One of the Best!!
What can I say?? Mulroney is, arguably, one of the best public speaker in the world, and one of the best PMs that Canada ever had!!
You can watch the speech here.
His speech has a lot of substance, and is fun to watch!!
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POSTED AT 5:38 AM EDT ON 21/04/06
'Engage the Americans,' vintage Mulroney lectures
Fete accompli: Political Ottawa salutes its greenest prime minister
OTTAWA — Former prime minister Brian Mulroney told an audience of past and present Conservatives -- including Prime Minister Stephen Harper -- that lecturing the Americans about their environmental record is not the way to solve global warming.
In a veiled attack last night on former Liberal prime minister Paul Martin and his criticism during the federal election campaign of the Americans' failure to sign on to the Kyoto accord, Mr. Mulroney offered three ways to succeed on the environmental front:
He said the government must lead by example and "not by slogan," it must "engage the Americans at the highest levels of government" and it also must involve industry.
The former prime minister said "there are few durable solutions on the environment on any other international issue without the engagement of the United States and the leadership of its president."
And Mr. Mulroney complimented Mr. Harper for the relationship he has established with the Bush administration, saying that the Prime Minister is "off to a good start."
It was a vintage performance by Mr. Mulroney, who was being honoured at the annual Earth Week Gala Dinner by a left-of-centre magazine, Corporate Knights, for being Canada's greenest prime minister.
He joked, laughed, and told old war stories, then delivered a thoughtful speech on his environmental legacy, looking ahead to what the Harper government could achieve.
By the end, he had the crowd eating out of his hand.
"Where political will prevails, solutions will follow," he said.
Mr. Mulroney emphasized the importance of the relationship Canada has with the United States, a relationship that many believe was damaged during the Martin government.
Tanned from the Florida sun and looking well after a brush with death last year, the distinctive baritone voice strong and the gleam back in his eye, the former Conservative prime minister, now 67, spoke for only the second time in the capital since leaving office in 1993.
It was a night the likes of which political Ottawa has not seen since the early 90s. The Château Laurier hotel, the scene of much political intrigue in the past, was teeming with past and present Tories -- the Mulroney era ran smack into the Harper crowd.
It was also one of the first nights in the capital since the Harper Conservatives took office in January that truly signified the Tories were back in town with a vengeance.
Few Liberals, with the exception of former deputy prime minister Sheila Copps and former Ontario education minister Gerard Kennedy, who is considering a run for the Liberal leadership, were at the dinner. Both were at the head table, and Mr. Kennedy looked very comfortable there, as the guest of comedian Rick Mercer. Mr. Mercer helped to introduce Mr. Mulroney.
And a cast of political and environmental heavyweights did the honouring of Mr. Mulroney, including Stephen Harper, Quebec Premier Jean Charest, an emotional Elizabeth May of the Sierra Club, and his son, Ben Mulroney of CTV's Canadian Idol and eTalk Daily.
The current American ambassador, David Wilkins, and former ambassador James Blanchard also attended.
Mr. Mulroney received several sustained standing ovations from the crowd of 308 people, and was even credited by a tearful Ms. May, who wandered off the environmental track, for saving the life of South African hero and human-rights activist Nelson Mandela.
Mr. Mulroney was one of the Commonwealth leaders at the forefront of the charge against apartheid.
Mr. Harper credited Mr. Mulroney with helping behind the scenes with the merger of the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative Party.
He also said that Mr. Mulroney played a "private" but "indispensable" role as a friend and political confidant. He joked that it's a lonely job being a Conservative leader and even lonelier as a Conservative prime minister.
Mr. Charest, who served as an environment minister in the Mulroney cabinet, praised him for his legacy and his help.
He also spoke of Mr. Mulroney's ability to keep his caucus together in both good and bad times, telling an emotional story about a tribute Mr. Mulroney made to the late Stan Darling for his efforts on the environmental front.
posted by X at 12:55 p.m.
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