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Bush, Mulroney 'do a little business'

Broadcast Date: Feb. 10, 1989

Just three weeks after his 1989 inauguration, U.S. President George Bush comes to Ottawa for his first official visit since taking office. He and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney quickly strike up a solid rapport, which should be helpful; the two leaders have much to discuss in Bush's six-hour visit. Acid rain is on top of the agenda as the two countries seek to establish a plan to tackle the growing environmental threat. Meanwhile, first lady Barbara Bush discovers the Group of Seven and the president shows off his own grasp of Canadian culture: a little Texas-accented French.

Bush, Mulroney 'do a little business'

• The U.S. Congress passed the Clean Air Act Amendment in 1990, which added provisions for ozone protection and acid rain reduction to earlier versions of the Clean Air Act from 1963 and 1970. Bush's son would later champion looser restrictions on greenhouse gases with his proposed Clean Skies Act of 2002, but the act was never approved by Congress.

• As reporter Terry Milewski mentions in this clip, George H.W. Bush campaigned vociferously against tax hikes. "Read my lips: no new taxes!" was a resonating slogan from his campaign. He couldn't stick to his promise, though: facing a recession and deepening deficit, Bush faced the choice of either making cuts to social programs or raising taxes. He ended up doing the latter.

Bush, Mulroney 'do a little business'

Medium: Television

Program: The National

Broadcast Date: Feb. 10, 1989

Guest(s): James Baker, George H.W. Bush, Barbara Bush, Brian Mulroney, Michael Perley, Debbie Sheiman

Host: Knowlton Nash
Reporter: David Halton, Terry Milewski

Duration: 6:40

Last updated:
Feb. 23, 2009