Jack Layton Dead at 61

As many of you may know the leader of the first time official NDP opposition has died on August 22nd. Which coincedentally was my birthday! sweet 19, In Canada that means I can buy/ do everything now, well, all the legal things of course. A nation mourns a great man. many of the people I've talked to about this seemed to revere him as the only politician that they could trust. Even as a minor party he still united opposition parties to rally against the Conservatives on crucial bills that has improved social welfare and general well being of the worst off in our society. He even stopped an election by voting for the conservatives on a vote of non-confidence where an election would otherwise have been called, as he knew that it would produce little result and eat up millions of dollars.


Really, the summary of him and his work is best said in this AFP article 



Harper was traveling in the Arctic but recalled for reporters on Tuesday his last meeting with Layton in June, saying Layton looked tired.

"But even at that moment, with the big personal challenge he had in front of him and with the big (political) battle we had going on between us, he was just still full of optimism and good will, and that's what I'll remember," Harper was quoted as saying by Canadian media.

Layton passed away Monday morning surrounded by his family in his Toronto home.

The mustachioed social democrat who helped his New Democratic Party surge past the Liberals to become Canada's official opposition earlier this year, lost a battle with cancer.

His body will lie in state in the foyer of the House of Commons on Wednesday and Thursday for all to bid him a final farewell before it is returned to Toronto for a state funeral -- usually reserved for prime ministers or governors general -- on Saturday.

The New Democratic Party had long been a marginal party in Canada, touting higher corporate taxes, a cap-and-trade system to reduce carbon emissions and a doubling of pension benefits.

But Layton electrified Canada's last election campaign in March, striking a chord with Canadian voters impressed by his grit and political fervor.

The NDP tripled its seats to 103, finishing second only to Harper's Conservatives and earning the right to form the official opposition for the first time in the party's history.


There are even discussions going on about making a national holiday immortalizing this 'revolutionary' figure. A nation mourns, but his accomplishments have broken the two party system, Jack's legacy will live throughout Canada's whole political future. Canadians have started to vote for what they want.

Good night sweet prince.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hrEr_v-3Bckhpo2cIgK1FD-h0V5A?docId=CNG.6e522651c7bd6c27e7ae3b200a632171.471