Brian Mulroney is being remembered by politicians in Alberta from each side of the aisle as a devoted statesman who helped others.
Calgary Nose Hill MP Michelle Rempel Garner was flying from Ottawa to Calgary when she bought the information that the previous prime minister had died.
“It was a physical feeling for me. It really felt like the world got a lot heavier,” Rempel Garner informed Global News Friday.
While greater than a decade separated their time in Parliament, the 2 have been nonetheless linked.
“Throughout my career, he did reach out proactively to offer words of advice and sometimes just a shot in the arm of positivity,” she stated.
“And I think what’s really been striking for me is, over the last several hours as Canada’s learned of his passing is how many other people from all different political stripes, all different walks of life that he did that for.”
One particular person on the opposite facet of the aisle grateful for Mulroney’s governance is Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi.
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The former Liberal cupboard minister is indebted to the previous prime minister.
“Showing personal interest in my case was instrumental in helping me,” Sohi stated Friday.
In 1988, Sohi was a everlasting resident of Canada. He returned to India for a go to and to review.
He was arrested and accused of terrorism due to his political activism in Canada.
He was wrongfully imprisoned for 2 years — a lot of it in solitary.
“For the first part of my imprisonment I had no knowledge of what was going on outside. But once I started getting access to the media and to my family, I knew there were many people advocating on my behalf.”
That included former MP David Kilgour and Mulroney himself, regardless of the Canadian authorities holding no accountability since Sohi was not a citizen.
The pair solely met 27 years later, in 2017 when Sohi was a cupboard minister.
“I was able to personally thank him for his advocacy and the leadership his government took,” Edmonton’s mayor remembered.
“He said, ‘Look Amarjeet, we discussed your case at the cabinet table and we knew that what we are doing is the right thing to do to bring you back home.’ And that was pretty touching.”
Both Rempel Garner and Sohi say it’s that type of conviction they’ll bear in mind Mulroney for. A top quality they consider will likely be vastly missed.
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