Monday, 22 August 2011

Jack Layton, Dead at 61

My condolences go out to Jack Layton's family, Olivia Chow and Jack's close friends. Jack will always be known as a fighter and unfortunately we will not see his tenacity in the house of commons anymore. He will leave a legacy of resurrecting the NDP party and bringing them into official opposition for the first time this past may. Did I agree with Jack Layton's message and his views on how the country should be run? No, not at all but there was that respect for his views and for him as a person, he was able to connect with so many people at various levels which I think made him who he was politically. He had a fight in him that few people could pull off, yet at the same time would come off as a soft genuine person who truly cared about our country. I knew at his announcement that it was going to be one heck of a battle for him, he did not look good at all and it looked like he had already had such a setback that it would be most difficult to overcome. Today we lost a person who will be very hard to replace on the political stage, a person who transformed Canada's political landscape and a person who will leave a great legacy for for many people within his party and even those across the floor from him. RIP Jack Layton.

Federal opposition leader Jack Layton loses battle with cancer

Layton passed away in his home early Monday morning

Reported by Gerald Bauman

First Posted: Aug 22, 2011 7:08am

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Federal NDP Leader Jack Layton has died.

The party says Layton died peacefully at 2:45 a.m. (MT) Monday morning at his Toronto home, surrounded by family and loved ones.

The sad news comes just weeks after a gaunt Layton held a news conference to announce he was fighting a second bout of cancer.

“I will therefore be taking a temporary leave of absence as leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada. I’m going to fight this cancer now so I can be back to fight for families when parliament resumes,” said Layton at the time.

Funeral details have not yet been announced.

Layton was 61-years-old.

Monday, 25 July 2011

Jack Layton To Step Aside To Battle New Cancer

Layton steps aside temporarily for new cancer battle

BY TOBI COHEN, POSTMEDIA NEWS JULY 25, 2011 1:38 PM

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New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jack Layton speaks at a news conference in Toronto, July 25, 2011. Layton announced he is temporarily stepping down to battle cancer.

Photograph by: Mark Blinch, Reuters

A frail-looking and raspy-voiced NDP leader Jack Layton announced Monday that his battle with cancer isn't over.

The official Opposition leader said he was temporarily stepping aside to take care of his health after learning he had developed a new cancer in addition to the prostate cancer he's been battling for more than a year.

He recommended that Quebec MP Nycole Turmel, the former president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, be made the party's interim leader.

"I'm going to fight cancer now so I can be back to fight for families when Parliament resumes," he said.

NDP officials had been mum about the subject of the surprise news conference, but rumours quickly began circulating that it could have something to do with Layton's health.

Unusually sedate during his most recent public appearance in Ottawa — a garden party for media at Stornoway — there was speculation that something didn't seem quite right.

On Monday, the Internet had been rife with speculation

According to one comment on Twitter, Layton's son Mike, a Toronto city councillor, appeared for a committee meeting in the morning but failed to return for the afternoon session.

Layton has been battling prostate cancer for more than a year and weeks before the writ dropped prompting an election last spring, he underwent surgery for a broken hip. He's been walking with a forearm crutch or cane ever since.

Looking pale and gaunt, there was much concern about his ability to handle the physical demands of a five-week federal election campaign.

He made it through the election in good form but Layton said Monday that he began suffering "stiffness and pain" shortly after the House of Commons rose for the summer break.

He underwent a series of tests at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto and was told while his PSA levels were low but that he'd developed another form of cancer.

He did not specify what type.

Layton's father, Robert, a cabinet minister in Brian Mulroney's Progressive Conservative government, successfully battled prostate cancer 18 years ago. He died in 2002 of complications from Parkinson's disease.