Doer remembers agreeable Layton

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This article was published 22/08/2011 (5378 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — Tributes to NDP Leader Jack Layton were fast flowing Monday as news of his death was reported.

Layton, 61, lost his battle with cancer early this morning at his Toronto home. His wife, MP Olivia Chow and his children, Sarah and Michael, released a joint statement shortly after 7:30 Winnipeg time.

Layton’s death has already saddened and shocked Canada’s political centre with condolences coming from all sides.

Former Manitoba NDP Premier Gary Doer — now the Canadian ambassador in Washington — said Layton was always energetic and never got tired by the hectic schedule and non-stop nature of the life of politics.

Doer has fond memories sharing meals with Layton at “a lot of rubber chicken dinners.”

NDP fundraisers and other party events, such as a fish fry in northwestern Ontario, were often followed by a glass of wine or a beer.

“Sometimes he’d go out and jog afterwards,” said Doer. “I wasn’t joining him for the jog. I was in for the rubber chicken and the beer but he was always looking after his health.”

Doer said even when they disagreed — over the war in Afghanistan for instance — the relationship was never strained.

“He just wasn’t disagreeable,” said Doer.

Layton’s legacy, said Doer, will certainly be the party’s success in the recent election and beating back separatism in Quebec. But his success comes, said Doer, because Layton understood not to listen to the pundits or the polls.

“He was the personification in life of the power of positive thinking,” said Doer.

Even if the polls had the NDP down at six per cent Layton didn’t let it show or affect his mindset.

“You gotta be inspired by people not by pundits and Jack understood that,” he said.

Premier Greg Selinger said today what he remembers about Layton is his influence on younger Canadians and his “tremendous sense of optimism.”

“He brought more people into the political process than we’ve ever seen before,” Selinger said. “Young people, Quebeckers, people all across the country. He’s left a great legacy of unity for the country.”

“He was a guy that attracted people with his spirit, his attitude,” Selinger added. “He was a guy that genuinely loved people and in response, people liked him and loved him back.”

Manitoba NDP MP Niki Ashton said Layton was the type of guy who knew how to work hard but also “how to chill.”

She said one of her favourite memories of him was after the 2006 election when he travelled to the northern Manitoba community of Pukatawagon.

He wanted to see first hand the conditions people were living in and see, touch and smell the situation for himself.

“I’ll never forget that,” said Ashton.

She also credited him for always taking her seriously even as a very young candidate.

Social networks were flooded with memories and expressions of sadness and condolences to Layton’s family.

“Hope and a dedication to building something better – they were Jack Layton’s greatest contribution to Cdn politics. Thank you Jack,” tweeted Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger.

Former Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean posted on Twitter: “Canada has lost a man of courage and great integrity who embodied the values dearest to Canadians.”

Layton was diagnosed with an undisclosed type of cancer in late June, just weeks after he became the leader of the official opposition. He stepped down as leader on a temporary basis in July, saying he planned to return to the House of Commons in time for the Sept. 19 start to the fall session.  Quebec MP Nycole Turmel was selected as interim leader in his place.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper released a statement from his office noting the last time he spoke to Layton it was right after the July announcement.

“He told me he’d be seeing me in the House of Commons in the Fall. This, sadly, will no longer come to pass.”

Interim leader Nycole Turmel said in a statement it was Layton’s leadership that inspired her and many others to run for office. She also noted the Tommy Douglas quote Layton included in every email he sent.

“Courage my friends, ‘tis never too late to build a better world.”

‘A tragedy for Canadian politics’

Soon after learning that the NDP leader had lost his battle with cancer longtime NDP MP and current Elmwood MLA Bill Blaikie hailed the loss of a man he knew so well.

“It’s a personal tragedy for Jack and his family,” Blaikie said, his voice hoarse with emotion. “And it’s a tragedy for Canadian politics that (Layton) is not going to be able to serve in the role Canadians wanted him in.”

Blaikie and Layton knew of each other for many years. But it wasn’t until the two faced off in the 2003 NDP leadership race that they made a connection that forged a lasting friendship. Soon after Layton was elected to the top NDP spot, Blaikie invited the new leader to his Ottawa office one evening for a long chat.

Blaikie said he was instantly struck by Layton’s energy and idealism – and by the shared faith that shaped their early values. “Both of us… were so very much a product of our upbringing in the United Church,” said Blaikie, who was himself ordained as a United Church minister.

“He would talk very enthusiastically about when his dad was the Sunday school superintendent, and the youth group he’d been a part of there. We’d had so many similar experiences, and here we were. When we first became rivals we barely knew each other, but nevertheless, we had so much in common.”

Chief among their shared goals, naturally, was to see the NDP invigorated to make a serious challenge for official opposition status – a dream that became a reality on May 2, when Layton led the “orange crush” to capture a record 103 seats. Less than four months after the euphoria of that victory, Layton died. He didn’t even get to see his triumph come to its fullest fruition, when the House of Commons resumes in September.

That fact does seem bitterly unfair, Blaikie acknowledged – but he vowed the NDP would rally and carry Layton’s “legacy of hope and optimism” forward. “The feeling right now is just the feeling of him being cheated of the opportunity to truly enjoy, and to build on and make the most of (the NDP’s success) — not just for his own sake, or the NDP’s sake, but for the country’s sake,” Blaikie said.

“There was a very real possibility that… Jack would have been in contention for being Prime Minister. Canadians aren’t going to have to the opportunity to make that choice, and that’s a real tragedy. He’s left a great legacy to the NDP.”

Born in a political family

Born in Hudson, Quebec, Layton grew up in a political family. Both his father and grandfather were cabinet ministers. He himself was a long-time Toronto city councillor before he ran for the federal NDP leadersip in January 2003. He won on the first ballot.

He was subsequently elected to Parliament for a central Toronto riding in the 2004 election.

He more than doubled the party’s seat count over the next three elections, but it was not until this last May the party’s breakthrough and Layton’s grandest days in politics were achieved.

He entered the 2011 campaign with question marks about his health, because of both the prostate cancer and an unrelated hip surgery that took place less than a month before the election call.

However he went through the campaign strongly, thanks to daily physical therapy with his sister.

The early days of the campaign did not look good for the NDP but his personal popularity and a clear desire for change in Quebec helped push the NDP to a record 103 seats.

It is the first time in history the NDP have been the opposition party, going from just one to 59 seats in Quebec.

In June he took his place in the House of Commons as the Leader of the Opposition and he and Chow moved into Stornoway, the official residence for the leader of the opposition in Ottawa.

Only a few people around him knew he was struggling again with his health.

He had waged a very public and successful battle with prostate cancer in 2010 but he was diagnosed with a new type of cancer in July and announced July 25 he had to step down temporarily as leader of the NDP.

He looked gaunt and his voice was almost unrecognizable at the news conference where he made his announcement.

It was the last time he was seen in public. He died this morning at 4:45 a.m.

A book in which the public can express their condolences to Layton’s family has been placed at the front lobby of the Manitoba Legislative Building.

It’s available 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. until Monday, Aug. 29

Letter from Jack Layton

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.

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