Today we have an anniversary that almost all my conservative friends will enjoy celebrating. It was, of course, on this date in 1988 that British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher addressed Canada’s Parliament. With an election in the air, and free trade with the United States the seemingly only issue for Canadians, June 23, The Iron Lady, true to form, waded into Canada’s debate.“I understand that it might be a controversial matter in this chamber,” she said. “I will only say that I do not underestimate Canada’s courage in taking this step in partnership with its giant neighbour … Protectionism is not a lifebelt which keeps an economy afloat. It is a millstone that drags you down and penalizes consumers and workforce alike. Subsidize the inefficient and soon that is all you have; you lose the competitive edge to export abroad and keep prices low at home.”On my end, I was honoured to join Lady Thatcher for tea for 90 minutes – just us two – at the House of Lords in 2007. My friend and boss, the Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney set the meeting up and I’ll always be in his debt. Though slowed by strokes and other health issues, she remained the Iron Lady I saw on my television repeatedly when I was a student. I am a lucky man to have had the opportunity for such a lengthy discussion with such a giant of world history.[caption id="attachment_27071" align="aligncenter" width="598"] Canadian PM Brian Mulroney with British PM Margaret Thatcher[/caption]Arthur Milnes is an accomplished public historian and award-winning journalist.  He was research assistant on The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney’s best-selling Memoirs and also served as a speechwriter to then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and as a Fellow of the Queen’s Centre for the Study of Democracy under the leadership of Tom Axworthy.  A resident of Kingston, Ontario, Milnes serves as the in-house historian at the 175 year-old Frontenac Club Hotel.