Tributes to Jack Layton

[Oscar]

Jack Layton's last letter to Canadians

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2011/08/22/
pol-layton-last-letter.html

August 20, 2011

Toronto, Ontario

Dear Friends,

Tens of thousands of Canadians have written to me in recent weeks to wish me well. I want to thank each and every one of you for your thoughtful, inspiring and often beautiful notes, cards and gifts. Your spirit and love have lit up my home, my spirit, and my determination.

Unfortunately my treatment has not worked out as I hoped. So I am giving this letter to my partner Olivia to share with you in the circumstance in which I cannot continue.

I recommend that Hull-Aylmer MP Nycole Turmel continue her work as our interim leader until a permanent successor is elected.

I recommend the party hold a leadership vote as early as possible in the New Year, on approximately the same timelines as in 2003, so that our new leader has ample time to reconsolidate our team, renew our party and our program, and move forward towards the next election.

A few additional thoughts:

To other Canadians who are on journeys to defeat cancer and to live their lives, I say this: please don't be discouraged that my own journey hasn't gone as well as I had hoped. You must not lose your own hope. Treatments and therapies have never been better in the face of this disease. You have every reason to be optimistic, determined, and focused on the future. My only other advice is to cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey, as I have done this summer.

To the members of my party: we've done remarkable things together in the past eight years. It has been a privilege to lead the New Democratic Party and I am most grateful for your confidence, your support, and the endless hours of volunteer commitment you have devoted to our cause. There will be those who will try to persuade you to give up our cause. But that cause is much bigger than any one leader. Answer them by recommitting with energy and determination to our work. Remember our proud history of social justice, universal health care, public pensions and making sure no one is left behind. Let's continue to move forward. Let's demonstrate in everything we do in the four years before us that we are ready to serve our beloved Canada as its next government.

To the members of our parliamentary caucus: I have been privileged to work with each and every one of you. Our caucus meetings were always the highlight of my week. It has been my role to ask a great deal from you. And now I am going to do so again. Canadians will be closely watching you in the months to come. Colleagues, I know you will make the tens of thousands of members of our party proud of you by demonstrating the same seamless teamwork and solidarity that has earned us the confidence of millions of Canadians in the recent election. 2
To my fellow Quebecers: On May 2nd, you made an historic decision. You decided that the way to replace Canada's Conservative federal government with something better was by working together in partnership with progressive-minded Canadians across the country. You made the right decision then; it is still the right decision today; and it will be the right decision right through to the next election, when we will succeed, together. You have elected a superb team of New Democrats to Parliament. They are going to be doing remarkable things in the years to come to make this country better for us all.

To young Canadians: All my life I have worked to make things better. Hope and optimism have defined my political career, and I continue to be hopeful and optimistic about Canada. Young people have been a great source of inspiration for me. I have met and talked with so many of you about your dreams, your frustrations, and your ideas for change. More and more, you are engaging in politics because you want to change things for the better. Many of you have placed your trust in our party. As my time in political life draws to a close I want to share with you my belief in your power to change this country and this world. There are great challenges before you, from the overwhelming nature of climate change to the unfairness of an economy that excludes so many from our collective wealth, and the changes necessary to build a more inclusive and generous Canada. I believe in you. Your energy, your vision, your passion for justice are exactly what this country needs today. You need to be at the heart of our economy, our political life, and our plans for the present and the future.

And finally, to all Canadians: Canada is a great country, one of the hopes of the world. We can be a better one - a country of greater equality, justice, and opportunity. We can build a prosperous economy and a society that shares its benefits more fairly. We can look after our seniors. We can offer better futures for our children. We can do our part to save the world's environment. We can restore our good name in the world. We can do all of these things because we finally have a party system at the national level where there are real choices; where your vote matters; where working for change can actually bring about change. In the months and years to come, New Democrats will put a compelling new alternative to you. My colleagues in our party are an impressive, committed team. Give them a careful hearing; consider the alternatives; and consider that we can be a better, fairer, more equal country by working together. Don't let them tell you it can't be done.

My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world.

All my very best,
Jack Layton

[Oscar]

Shields: Thank You God!

----- Original Message -----
From: lagran
To: Rae.B@parl.gc.ca ; Prime Minister/Premier ministre
Cc: goodale ; flaherty ; Alberta Activism
Sent: Monday, August 22, 2011 8:07 AM
Subject: Thank You God!

I feel very very sorry for my country Canada, on the passing of Jack Layton. Like many I had hoped Jack would be back in the house to ensure some useful work for the public was accomplished. We will be forced for a few days to listen to the phonies from the "wild-eyed-right" blather about Jack's virtues and character while quietly so very thankful they won't have to face him in the next federal election. And if that sounds like anger and frustration, it is. That a political human with Jack's understanding and determination to act honestly for those he served could be so cruelly taken at this particular time in the NDP history seems somehow so unfair. However, jack would not want us to vent anger upon his passing, but show the same dogged determination that kept him going forward and winning. Thank you God for the years you allowed him to serve us!!

Stewart Shields
Lacombe, Alberta

[Oscar]

Jack Layton: Peace Activist

http://www.ceasefire.ca/?p=8355#respond

August 22, 2011

I am certain that we both feel the loss of Jack Layton deeply. Jack was a friend of the peace movement, and could be counted upon to find an alternative to war and to stand up for Canadian values of co-operation and diplomacy.

And we all know that as a result of his convictions, he was able to stand his ground in the face of nasty personal attacks from the Conservatives and the pro-war lobby.

I met Jack Layton in 2002 a few months after he arrived in Ottawa as the new leader of the NDP. Over the years, he and his MPs took on many issues — and I am convinced that he and his colleagues kept Canada away from the invasion of Iraq, saved Canada from George W. Bush's missile defence scheme, and eventually after a terrible cost in dollars and lives, brought about an end to Canada's fighting in Afghanistan.

You are invited to share your thoughts on Jack Layton’s accomplishments on Ceasefire.ca.

Leave your comments on Jack Layton’s legacy:
http://www.ceasefire.ca/?p=8355#respond


Steven Staples, Ceasefire.ca

[Oscar]

'All of Us Need to Be Able to Make a Difference': The Late Jack Layton

http://thetyee.ca/News/2011/08/22/Jack-Layton-Obit/
?utm_source=mondayheadlines&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=220811

New Democrat Leader was a political Moses who never entered Promised Land.

By　John Ward, Today, Canadian Press

OTTAWA -- Like some political Moses, Jack Layton led his people out of the wilderness, only to die within sight of his own Promised Land.

In the preface to his 2006 book, "Speaking Out Louder," Layton wrote a passage that turned out to be eerily prescient:

"Oftentimes, life's highs and lows are inextricably linked. That has certainly happened to me and, occasionally, the ups and downs were virtually simultaneous."

In eight years as leader of the NDP he took his party to heady heights, but fell himself to a tragic disease at the age of 61.

The end came with a terse announcement.

"We deeply regret to inform you that the honourable Jack Layton, leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada, passed away at 4:45 a.m. today, Monday August 22," said the statement from his wife, Olivia Chow, and children, Sarah and Michael.

"He passed away peacefully at his home surrounded by family and loved ones."

Funeral details have not yet been announced. [ . . . ]

[Oscar]

NFU OFFERS DEEPEST CONDOLENCES TO FAMILY OF JACK LAYTON


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 22, 2011

Saskatoon, Sask. – The National Farmers Union (NFU) offers its deepest condolences to the family of NDP leader Jack Layton, following his passing this morning. Mr. Layton will be remembered as a tireless leader, who never strayed from his fight for social justice for each and every Canadian. “Jack Layton was a good friend of the Canadian farmer, and a fervent defender of the Canadian Wheat Board and supply management. He will be sorely missed by the NFU,” stated NFU President Terry Boehm.

For more information, please contact:

Terry Boehm, NFU President (306) 255-2880

Kevin Wipf, NFU Executive Director (306) 652-9465

[Oscar]

GARDEN: Tribute to Jack Layton

----- Original Message -----
From: Peter Garden
Sent: Monday, August 22, 2011 8:47 PM

Subject: [turning-news] Jack Layton's letter to Canadians

Dear friends and supporters of Turning the Tide,

As a rule, I try to stay out of partisan politics in the business realm of life. On a personal level, I tend to view electoral politics with a critical and sometimes cynical eye. That being said, there are many places where my own values and aspirations for the world overlap with the values and policies of what some political parties and the individuals within them are trying to achieve. I can appreciate that there are people within those party structures who work very sincerely for what they see is the good of all and not for personal gain or to attain the power to control others. Whatever qualms I may have had over the years with NDP policy and strategy, I never doubted Jack Layton’s commitment to making the world a better place. For me, it is for this reason that I want to mark this occasion by sending out Jack’s letter (which many of you will have seen already today but warrants wide distribution) with a moment to honour the man who made significant personal sacrifices, possibly the ultimate sacrifice, for the good of others.

Below is Jack’s last letter to Canadians. I think that it is a remarkable piece of writing given that it was written 48 hours before he passed away and he knew he had lost the battle with cancer. I hope that what folks will take from the letter and Jack’s passing is that the fight for a better world is a worthwhile one that can give our lives meaning. I choose to focus my own energy at the community level and with grassroots organizing and not within the political party structures but respect the people who do engage with trying to create social and environmental change from within the system. Whether inside or outside the system, what I think is important and what Jack articulates so clearly in his letter is that people, especially younger folks who are surrounded by a culture of cynicism and sometimes hopelessness, don’t give up hope that our actions can contribute to something better.

Today I will mourn the death of a fellow traveler, and a rather exceptional one, along the road to fighting for a better world. Tomorrow, I will continue to organize for change. That is what Jack is asking of us, and it is what Joe Hill and countless others who died in the service of social movements have asked of us. I don’t think anything else will honour their memories better.

Peace and solidarity,

Peter Garden,
Turning the Tide, Saskatoon

[Oscar]

ARBESS: To Jack Layton's Family and the NDP

From: Saul Arbess <saul.arbess@departmentofpeace.ca>
Date: August 22, 2011 1:14:54 PM PDT
To: MP Jack Layton <laytoj@parl.gc.ca>

To Jack Layton's Family and the New Democratic Party:

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Department of Peace Initiative (CDPI), I wish to express our profound grief and sense of loss at the passing of Jack Layton. Jack was truly a man of the people and a man of peace, strongly supportive of Canadian peacebuilding and peace diplomacy, as opposed to Canada taking a belligerent stand in the world.

Several years ago, when Jack was in Victoria, where I live, I presented him personally with our proposal for a department of peace. He greeted me with his characteristic warmth and, with Canada already serving in a combat role in Afghanistan, said that we need a department of peace now more than ever. In 2007, he seconded a Motion in the House calling for such a department, as a follow up to the Private Members Bill, introduced by an NDP MP earlier that year.

Jack was a beacon of hope and a unswerving champion of social justice and equity for all Canadians. He will be remembered as a great Canadian and NDP leader in the tradition of Tommy Douglas and will be terribly missed by all, regardless of their political affiliations.

In sympathy and compassion to those who loved him and whom he loved.

Saul Arbess, Co-chair
Canadian Department of Peace Initiative(CDPI)
saul.arbess@departmentofpeace.ca
www.departmentofpeace.ca
Skype: pensaul
250-383-5878

PETITION:
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/dep ... /sign.html

to download,sign and circulate the petition for a Department of Peace

[Oscar]

GOODALE: THE HUMAN SIDE OF POLITICS!

RALPH GOODALE’S REPORT
A commentary by the Member of Parliament for Wascana
goodale@sasktel.net

August 23rd, 2011

THE HUMAN SIDE OF POLITICS!

This week, as Canadians mourns the loss of NDP Opposition Leader Jack Layton, it’s perhaps a good time to reflect on the state of politics practiced in our country.

Mr. Layton was a passionate fighter for the causes in which he believed – most especially, greater social justice for the less privileged. Whether or not you supported his policy prescriptions, you had to admire the vigour and tenacity with which he advanced his ideas.

Even more importantly, his style of political debate was normally decent and good humoured. He could disagree with his opponents without being disagreeable. He was aggressive, but typically avoided nasty personal abuse.

On those rare occasions when he departed from these principles, Mr. Layton was usually quick to recant and find some way to restore damaged relationships.

This is an old-fashioned quality that’s all too rare in politics these days.

Divisions are deep and harsh. Instead of substantive, reasoned arguments based upon fact and logic, election campaigns (and pre-campaigns) seem increasingly dominated by never-ending “attack advertising”. The wealthiest partisans invest millions to demean the reputations of their competition.

Many people bemoan that negativity that seems so prevalent in politics, but sadly, the results on election day tend to indicate that attack-ads work. But there’s a cost? The political process gets tainted and voter-turnouts go down.

Since Jack Layton revealed his courageous battle against cancer, and especially since that battle took an apparent turn for the worse in July, there has been an over-arching – even unifying – hope among the vast majority of Canadians that somehow he could emerge victorious.

The human side of politics overcame the partisan.

In the end, his recovery was not to be. But it would be a fitting memorial to Mr. Layton if some of the decent, old-fashioned qualities which he preferred could enjoy a comeback in Canadian political life. -30-

[Oscar]

The Council mourns the passing of Jack Layton

http://canadians.org/blog/?p=10062

By Brent Patterson, Monday, August 22nd, 2011

The Council of Canadians is profoundly saddened by the passing of Jack Layton. We extend our deepest condolences to Olivia and to his family and close friends.

For more than thirty years, Jack has been active in the movement for social justice – as a city councillor and mayoral candidate in Toronto, as a Member of Parliament, and most recently as the Leader of the Official Opposition.

For those of us who had the opportunity to work with him over the years, one could only be inspired and impressed by his commitment, his capacity, and his leadership.

He was also a great supporter of the Council of Canadians.

We mourn the passing of Jack Layton, we will remember his contributions and work for a better world, and we will keep the closing lines in his last letter in our hearts and in our actions – “My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.”

Brent Patterson
Political Director
The Council of Canadians
www.canadians.org

[Oscar]

SINCLAIR: Jack Layton's Passing

----- Original Message -----
From: neil Sinclair
Sent: Tuesday, August 23, 2011 11:21 AM
Subject: Jack Layton's Passing

I first met Jack Layton in front of the OK Economy grocery store in Saskatoon on Broadway Avenue early in his leadership of the federal NDP. There was a demonstration calling for the labeling of foods containing GMOs. There were about a dozen of us in front of the store. It struck me that the NDP leader was actually taking part in our little demonstration. I was impressed.

The last time I saw Jack Layton was at the political rally at the Bessborough Hotel in Saskatoon where there were hundreds of energetic people packed into the room full of positive energy.

Jack Layton took the NDP a long way towards its greatest success. I believe, if he had lived, he would have become Prime Minister one day and he would have been a good Prime Minister. I think the greatest quality about Jack is that he cared about people, especially the weak and disadvantaged in our society. He kind of reminds (one) of Tommy Douglas in that respect. He inspired people to get involved. Many of my activist friends threw their hat into the ring and ran for political office, never a small decision. He inspired people.

Canada lost a great political leader and it is a sad day.

Cancer strikes down so many people and when it hits someone famous we take notice but along with Jack Layton some 75,000 other people in Canada will die from cancer this year. Over 170,000 Canadians will be diagnosed with cancer this year. The cancer rate is now roughly 40% amongst all of us. It is an epidemic and the rate has been increasing for decades and is still increasing. Healthy people with healthy lifestyles get cancer. Why?

The historical record of the cancer rate before 1945 is quite different. In 1930 it was 10%. What has happened to change it so much? Is there some occurrence that has occurred and can be correlated to the increase in cancer?

In 1945 the first atomic explosion happened, over the coming decades over 2000 more test explosions would happen and then hundreds of nuclear reactors would be started up. The nuclear industry has exposed all of us around the entire world to higher levels of radiation. Granted we have lived with natural radiation but the order of magnitude of exposure to radiation is not hundreds of times but thousands of times higher because of the nuclear industry. From uranium mining to nuclear power to handling the waste, it all releases radiation into the environment and ultimately to our bodies where it can cause cancer. The difference between a natural gamma ray shooting through your body to a man made alpha radiation emitter inside the body is like a pinprick compared to a bullet wound. The natural gamma last less than one second while the alpha radiation can last your whole life. For example, Areva and Cameco vent radon gas out of their mines to lower the radiation inside the mines. This gas blows with the wind until it changes to a solid radioactive polonium 210.Now if a human (or another animal) breathes in the radon into the lungs and it changes to a solid inside the lungs, it stays there and will cause lung cancer in 10, 15, 20 or more years’ time.

Uranium is a poison and Areva and Cameco dig it up and spread this poison around the world. Some people that oppose a nuclear reactor and a nuclear waste dump still accept uranium mining, but you know Fukushima is still not far enough away because even on the other side of the world the damn radiation is still coming back to Saskatchewan and people are breathing it in.

Cancer strikes far too many people; we should not put making money above protecting peoples’ health.

Jack Layton was a good man; he will be missed greatly.

Neil Sinclair,
Saskatoon

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