P+Brian+Mulroney+-+Rolling+the+Dice

=Brian Mulroney - Rolling The Dice=


 * Table of Contents**

1. Biography of Brian Mulroney 2. Election 1984 3. Election 1988 4. The Goods and Services Tax 5. The Meech Lake Accord 6. The Meech Lake Accord - Why Did It Fail? 7. The Meech Lake Accord - The Consequences 8. Video and PowerPoint 9. Bibliography an External Links


 * Biography of Brian Mulroney**[[image:Picture_1.png width="177" height="225" align="right"]]

Brian Mulroney was born on March 20, 1939 in Baie-Comeau, Quebec. Then in 1973, he got married to Mila Pivnicki and had one daughter and three sons. So far, throughout his life, he was been a lawyer, a member of the Cliché Commission, the Vice-President and later the Persident of Iron Ore Company, an author, and the Prime Minister of Canada.

During his political career, Brian Mulroney was part of the Progressive Conservative party. Then, he was elected in 1984 and remained the Prime Minster of Canada for 9 years, until 1993. He was the 18th Prime Minster of Canada and he was proceeded by John Turner and followed by Kim Campbell. He ran in a few different ridings in Quebec, some of which include Central Nova, Manicouagan, and Charlevoix.


 * Election 1984**

The former Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau, retired in 1984, which meant that a new election had to be called to elect a new Prime Minister of Canada. John Turner, who was one of the candidates in the running to become the next Prime Minster, called the election for September 1984. During this election, John Turner planned to attack Brian Mulroney, which ultimately lead to the setup of Mulroney's victory. Mulroney then compared his patronage to that of the Old Nationale in Quebec.

During the election, Turner didn't cancel his appointment to the Governor General. Mulroney's response to this was; "You had an option sir. You could have said, 'I am not going to do it. This is wrong for Canada, and I am not going to ask Canadians to pay the price.' You had an option, sir--to say 'no'-- and you chose to say 'yes' to the old attitudes and the old stories of the Liberal Party."


 * Election 1988**

Mulroney's first term in office ended during 1988. Because of this, another election for Prime Minster has to be held. During this election, free trade was the central issue to be regarded. The Liberals and the NDPs had opposed this key issue and the Conservatives were able to win this election due to a successful counter attack towards the Liberals. At the end of the election, the Conservatives had won, but they had a reduced majority of 43%. Mulroney was now the only Conservative leader to have won two consecutive majority governments. During the 1988 election, Mulroney was also elected MP of Charlevoix, Quebec.


 * The Goods and Services Tax**

The Goods and Services Tax, or GST, was introduced on January 1, 1991. It was introduced by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Michael Wilson, who was the Finance Minister in the Cabinet at the time. The purpose of the GST was to replace 13.5% of the Manufacturer's Sale Tax and to replace the Federal Telecommunications Tax of 11%. This idea was first brought up in 1989, when the Prime Minister had proposed the National Sales Tax of 9% in every province except for Alberta. This was because, at the time, Alberta already had it's own provincial sales tax. But the Canadians had disapproved of the Goods and Services Tax. They were also irritated by the introduction of a new tax because it would end up being more costly for all Canadians. Because of the introduction of a new tax, this also gave other parties in Parliament to attack the Progressive Conservative party. The new tax was soon lowered to 7% but it still made the Canadian people angry.


 * The Meech Lake Accord**

The Meech Lake Accord was a meeting that was held at Meech Lake, in Chelsea, Quebec, and it was organized by Brian Mulroney. At this meeting, the premiers were going to try and find a solution that would satisfy both the people in Quebec while also addressing the concerns that the other provinces had. During this meeting all of the provinces finally decided on four main points;

• They would recognize Quebec as a "distinct society" • There would be increased powers given to Quebec over the areas of immigration and appointments to the Supreme Court of Canada • There would be restrictions to the government's spending power •There would be a veto to all the provinces on constitutional changes

But for this agreement to be passed, it first had to be formally accepted by all of the provinces. All of the provinces had to agree on this within three years for it to be passed, but there were to be no changes aloud afterwards.

The Meech Lakes Accord had gained many opponents. Quebec thought that they didn't receive enough power but all of the other provinces thought that Quebec had too much power with this agreement. The Aboriginal leaders had also opposed this agreement. The leaders had a fear that the western governments would block their call for a self-government. Some women in Canada also believed that the Meech Lake Accord would not address their personal needs. By 1990 the polls had showed that most of Canada had opposed the Meech Lake Accord.


 * The Meech Lake Accord - Why Did It Fail?**

The Meech Lake Accord ultimately failed for a number of different reasons. Not all of the provinces had accepted it because they did think that it was fair for them. The Aboriginals didn't accept it because they had feared that the western governments would block their call for for self-government. The women also didn't accept it because they thought that the accord would not address their needs.

had to agree to bring the Accord forward to debate. One other reason that the Meech Lake Accord had failed was because to be passed, all of the members of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly. But one of the members of the Assembly, Elijah Harper, who was a Cree member, said "no" to the Accord eight times over the span of two days. To Harper, the Accord had failed to recognize the Native people as equal partners. Because he had said no to the Accord, it could not be ratified in time and Clyde Wells, who was Newfoundland's premier, did not bring the Accord forward to debate.


 * The Meech Lake Accord - The Consequences**

There were many consequences for Quebec and the rest of Canada because the Accord had failed. First of all, many people who were living in Quebec had felt betrayed and rejected by the federal system. It was also announced that Quebec would not be involved in any more constitutional talks. Quebec has also launched the Belanger-Campeau Commission. This was used to try and study some of the future options that Quebec could consider. In the end, it was concluded that Quebec had two options. Quebec could either separate from Quebec or they could try to negotiate with Canada for a new federal partnership.

In Canada, the Mulroney government also launched its own commission. This commission was named the Citizens' Forum on Canada's Future and it was lead by the journalist Keith Spicer. This commission was set up to reassure the Canadians that their input was important to the government's plans for Canada's future. The Canadians later became furious with the Conservative government because they had heard that Mulroney had said he had been "rolling the dice."


 * Video and Powerpoint**




 * Bibliography** **and External Links**

[|Brian Mulroney on Wikipedia] [|Brian Mulroney on The Canadian Encyclopedia] [|Biography of Brian Mulroney] [|Sealing The Friendship With A Song - Video] [|CBC Archives] Grade 10 History Textbook