Former prime minister Brian Mulroney says he would hold a Royal Commission on missing and murdered aboriginal women if he were Canadaâs leader today, in a sharp rebuke of Stephen Harper.
In a wide-ranging interview with CTVâs Power Play host Don Martin, Mulroney said itâs an important issue that needs to be examined.
Harper has rejected calls for a public inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women, saying the cases should be viewed as crimes and are not a âsociological phenomenon.â
Mulroney, who won the largest majority government in Canadian history 30 years ago, said Thursday he can see both sides of the debate.
âBut if I were there, I wouldnât hesitate,â he said. âI would have a Royal Commission into aboriginal issues of this kind because of the sensitivity and the importance to aboriginals at this particular time in their evolution.â
When Mulroneyâs Progressive Conservatives were in power, he appointed the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples in 1991. The final 4,000-page report was published five years later, with numerous recommendations for long-term changes aimed at improving the lives of Canadian aboriginals and their relationship with Ottawa.
Mulroney said the Liberal government under Jean Chretien âdidnât act uponâ some of those recommendations.
âBut that doesnât mean that a more tightly designed Royal Commission now wouldnât have beneficial effects,â he said.
Mulroney critical of Harperâs actions
Mulroney didnât hold back when asked about the Harper governmentâs approach to key issues, including the environment and foreign affairs.
After Canada lost its bid for a seat on the UN Security Council to Portugal, âyou should look in the mirror and say: âHouston, I think we have a problem,ââ Mulroney said.
He singled out John Baird as an âexceptionally talentedâ foreign affairs minister, but said Canadaâs foreign affairs approach âhas to be enveloped in a broader and more generous sweep that takes in Canadian traditions and Canadian history in a much more viable way.â
Mulroney suggested that Harper doesnât have a close relationship with U.S. President Barack Obama, saying that a prime minister doesnât âhave much clout internationallyâ without a solid rapport with the White House.
The former prime minister also sounded off on Harperâs spat with Chief Justice of Canada Beverley McLachlin.
Harper had suggested that McLachlin behaved inappropriately when she tried to flag potential problems with Federal Court Judge Marc Nadonâs appointment to the Supreme Court .
"You don't get into a slagging contest with the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, even if you thought that he or she was wrong," Mulroney said.
Conservatives have to be âcarefulâ ahead of election: Mulroney
Mulroney also weighed in on next yearâs federal election, calling Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau a formidable opponent who should not be underestimated.
âWhen somebody is leading in the polls 14 months in a row, this is not a fluke,â he said. âThe prime minister and his colleagues are going to have to be pretty vigilant here.â
Mulroney said Trudeau is a âdifferent kettle of fishâ compared to former Liberal leaders Stephane Dion and Michael Ignatieff.
He said Trudeauâs charisma may be just what the voters need after 10 years of Harper government. He said the Tories have to be âcarefulâ when it comes to Trudeau because even though Harper is a âtough, strong principled individual,â Canadians â and especially the middle class â are looking for change.
Critics say that Trudeau doesnât have a program, but âhis program is that heâs not Stephen Harper,â Mulroney said.
âI won because I wasnât Pierre Trudeau. And then Jean Chretien 10 years later won because he wasnât Brian Mulroney. So itâs part of a desire for change, which is normal.â
Mulroney also cautioned against dismissing NDP Leader Thomas Mulcairâs chances in 2015, calling him âthe best opposition leader since John Diefenbaker.â
âThe idea that this is going to be a two-party tap dance is wrong,â he said.