Love, Hope, and Optimism

The week in Canada began with two devastating pieces of news: the death of twelve people on a flight to a remote part of the Arctic, and then the sudden death of Jack Layton, who was the leader of the Opposition party nationally. For those of you unfamiliar with our political system, it is based on the British parliamentary system, which means we have a Prime Minister (and his Tory party in power right now with a majority government), and the Opposition, which is the 2nd place party, at the moment held by the New Democratic Party, which would probably best be described as social democrats. The middle ground Liberals were annihilated during the last election in May.

Jack Layton was very charismatic, and spent about 20 years in Toronto as a member of the city council before entering federal politics, and so he was really a beloved son of the city I grew up in and still call home. He was raised in a privileged home, the son a Tory cabinet minister, and rose to become an environmentalist and left-leaning politician who advocated for the poor, the homeless, and so many of the disenfranchised in our society. His death, which came unexpectedly and quickly from cancer, was shocking and sad as he had just won a large victory in early May election and was poised to go back to the House of Commons in September.

It is only the second time in history that a sitting Opposition leader has died in office, the last one being a former Prime Minister, Wilfred Laurier, in 1919. The reaction to his death has been quite dramatic, and has crossed all political stripes. He was a man much admired for his principles, regardless of whether or not people could bring themselves to vote for him, and he was quite liked by opponents and followers alike. He was passionate about politics, loved his family, music, and his country. He now lies in state in Ottawa, and has been granted the honour of a state funeral by our Prime Minister; as I write this, the public line is now over a thousand strong as they keep the foyer of the House of Commons open late tonight so people can pay their respects. He will be flown to Toronto on Friday and will also lie in state here at City Hall before his Saturday funeral.




The Chalk Memorial at Toronto's Nathan Phillips Square


I never met Jack Layton, but he represented the best of what Canada means to me- it is a country of hope, compassion, and gentility, of people who have come from every corner of the world to start a better life for themselves and their families, and left their former troubles at the door. It is a country where we all muddle through together, from different cultures, languages, religions, and classes, yet somehow manage to get along. Jack Layton was the embodiment of that hope, and of that striving to make this society more just and caring. He was the one to push the federal Tory government to apologize publicly for the shameful treatment of our First Nations people, and worked tirelessly on behalf of the homeless and other vulnerable citizens. A chalk memorial began just outside our city hall after his death was announced on Monday, captured so beautifully by many photographers before today's rain storms washed a lot of it away. (See the photograph above)

I was struck yesterday by the disconnect between the reactions of two prominent conservative politicians and those of two equally powerful neo-con newspapers: our Prime Minister Stephen Harper was gracious in his verbal praise of Jack Layton, and used his discretionary powers to grant him the honour of a state funeral, both of which showed admirable grace; our city mayor, Rob Ford, who has been known to keep his foot quite close to his mouth, was generous when reminiscing about his days in local council with Jack, and complimented him for teaching him so many things and having such strong principles. In comparison, two major newspapers had what I felt were disgusting opinion pieces yesterday- one which questioned the sanity of Canadians who were mourning the loss so publicly and apparently so emotionally, the other wondering if taxpayers should be responsible for the cost of a state funeral at a time of fiscal restraint. I am happy to say that the comment section of both newspapers were flooded by irate and disgusted people of all political leanings who overwhelmingly denounced the two reporters for their ill-timed and mean-spirited editorials. They were tacky, petty, and incredibly disrespectful ideas at a time when an entire nation is mourning, and the complete antithesis of what Jack Layton wrote to his countrymen in his last letter to us:


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.


Amen, Jack, and RIP.