Jack Layton is dead

[Goober]

State funeral - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


CanadaMain article: State funerals in Canada
In Canada, state funerals are public events held to commemorate the memory of present and former governors general, present and former prime ministers, sitting members of the Ministry and other prominant Canadians at the discretion of the Prime Minister[1]. With ceremonial, military, and religious elements incorporated, state funerals are offered and executed by the Government of Canada which provides a dignified manner for the Canadian people to mourn a national public figure.

In August 2011, in a rare circumstance, Prime Minister Stephen Harper offered a state funeral for his political adversary and Leader of the Opposition, Jack Layton. Layton died of cancer only three months after his New Democratic Party became the official opposition, for the first time in his party's history.

 

[damngrumpy]

I suppose some people have not been watching the coverage of his life and times.
He had a long list of accomplishments and made a great difference in many peoples
lives, that is why most people have responded the way they have.
The poor the homeless, working people, and a host of others were defended by him
municipally, and Federally, His championing of environmental issues, and his ability
to make a deal to better the lives of others made a difference to our society.
There are people coming from all over to pay respects, senior environmentalists from
Australian and even Jean Charest is coming home early from a visit to Japan to take in
the final day, of saying goodbye.
The problem for some is they can't see what has happened here. Jack Layton did something
that most of us could never do, become a Statesman while still in the service of his country.
Even with the I'm on your side to the verbal combat of politics, Layton was able to transcend
the debate and make it something better. We will appreciate him more down the long road
of history, because we fail to see what is at the end of our nose as it were.
You know there were those who criticized Abe Lincoln for the Gettysburg Address because
it was less that two minutes long. Today it is one of the greatest speeches in history
Abe was able to capture the essence of the event and frame it in less than two hundred words.
Layton in effect allowed people to grasp onto Hope, and make it a tangible item. That is
something few people are able to do politician or not.

 

[DurkaDurka]

All sizes | Jack Layton Tributes-Nathan Phillips Square | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

This is a shot I took a couple hours back at Toronto City Hall, quite amazing the number of tributes in his honor, I've never seen the place that quiet, was quite sombre.

 

[SLM]

All sizes | Jack Layton Tributes-Nathan Phillips Square | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

This is a shot I took a couple hours back at Toronto City Hall, quite amazing the number of tributes in his honor, I've never seen the place that quiet, was quite sombre.

I saw something about this on the news. It's nice to see people coming together like this. Gives me hope that we are not such a disparate bunch after all.

 

[DurkaDurka]

I saw something about this on the news. It's nice to see people coming together like this. Gives me hope that we are not such a disparate bunch after all.

It was a pretty incredible sight, there was probably a good 500-600 people showing their respects. Lots of real personal messages too, stuff along the line of "Jack, you gave me a reason to vote" etc. Like his politics or not, he had a profound effect on people, especially evident now.

 

[Durry]

. Jack Layton did something
that most of us could never do, become a Statesman while still in the service of his country.
Even with the I'm on your side to the verbal combat of politics, Layton was able to transcend
the debate and make it something better. We will appreciate him more down the long road
of history, because we fail to see what is at the end of our nose as it were.
You know there were those who criticized Abe Lincoln for the Gettysburg Address because
it was less that two minutes long. Today it is one of the greatest speeches in history
Abe was able to capture the essence of the event and frame it in less than two hundred words.
Layton in effect allowed people to grasp onto Hope, and make it a tangible item. That is
something few people are able to do politician or not.

I guess there are many who could make similar statements/arguments about Gilles Duceppe, if he was still in office and something similar (heaven forbid), happened to him, would you give Gilles a state funeral??

 

[JLM]

I guess there are many who could make similar statements/arguments about Gilles Duceppe, if he was still in office and something similar (heaven forbid), happened to him, would you give Gilles a state funeral??

Duceppe is a divider NOT a joiner! :smile:

 

[Cliffy]

I guess there are many who could make similar statements/arguments about Gilles Duceppe, if he was still in office and something similar (heaven forbid), happened to him, would you give Gilles a state funeral??

Yup. He was another politician who gave a damn. He knew more about Canada than 99% of Canadians and more about parliamentary procedures than the vast majority of politicians.

 

[DurkaDurka]

I guess there are many who could make similar statements/arguments about Gilles Duceppe, if he was still in office and something similar (heaven forbid), happened to him, would you give Gilles a state funeral??

People probably wouldn't be as crass as you. Also, Layton's party is a federalist one, unlike Duceppe.

 

[DurkaDurka]

Layton and his party, the NDP run candidates from coast to coast and they have genuine ideas and directions where they want the country to go (like their policies or not, I don't care) unlike the Bloq, which is a selfish, separatist party hell bent on breaking up Canada with Gilles formerly at the helm. Even Harper recognizes what Layton has accomplished, hell, Layton did Harper a favour by helping him destroy the Liberals in their current form.

 

[Durry]

Did you note at the discretion of the PM. We easterners did.

Well good for you !!
So are you suggesting you would not draw a line in the sand, but always deferre this decision to the PM to make a political decision..

 

[DurkaDurka]

Well good for you !!
So are you suggesting you would not draw a line in the sand, but always deferre this decision to the PM to make a political decision..

Generally, elected government officials make political decisions.

 

[JLM]

Well good for you !!
So are you suggesting you would not draw a line in the sand, but always deferre this decision to the PM to make a political decision..

This isn't something that happens every day or even every year (last one was for Romeo Leblanc in 2009) I'm not sure what it costs each Canadian but 14 cents is a nice round number and probably pretty close, so if it's such a big deal I'd also chip in for you once every two years. To put the whole thing in prospective how much is the average gangster costing us every day? For the likes of Jack it's money well spent. If you really feel strongly about it go down to the area where every one is writing messages in chalk and stand there for a couple of hours wearing a sandwich board expressing your feelings. :smile:

 

[Durry]

For the likes of Jack it's money well spent.

If you really feel strongly about it go down to the area where every one is writing messages in chalk and stand there for a couple of hours wearing a sandwich board expressing your feelings. :smile:

Money well spent,,well that's a matter of opinion.

 

[JLM]

Money well spent,,well that's a matter of opinion.

It seems this is what most Canadians want.

 

[WLDB]

See, as I noted..
Jack is only getting a state funeral because of the discreatin of the PM. I disagree that with the PM, he should not have a state funeral. I wouldn't give him one!!

Fortunately for all of us, you aren't the PM and don't get a say in such matters. Aside from you I only know of one other person who actually opposes this idea. A large portion of the population wants it.

 

[mentalfloss]

Money well spent,,well that's a matter of opinion.

If you voted for Harper, then you can take that disciplinarian finger and point it right back up your ass.

 

[Ron in Regina]

Sorry Folks. I tried to srub out the blatant & nasty Trolling, and the
reactions of those that swallowed the bait. I had several pages to
run through, & it looks like I missed a post or two.

Please try to keep this clean(-ish) and we'll remove the Trolling when it's
reported so that we know it exists. Thank you in advance for your
cooperation.

 

[Praxius]

Well, most often life itself has a way of changing things for the better, even tho it may not be obvious at the time !!

Surprisingly, I think I agree with you on that..... his death seems to have impacted many people and his last words to the citizens of this nation will probably have a long lasting affect on many...... and this is a long stretch, but it might even change the attitudes of those in our government to reduce their squabbling and posturing to get more done for the nation and its people.

I hope..... It'd be shameful if it was only a few days of remember him and what he has done and then everything went right back to the way things were in our government as if nothing changed.

Canada
Main article: State funerals in Canada
In Canada, state funerals are public events held to commemorate the memory of present and former governors general, present and former prime ministers, sitting members of the Ministry and other prominant Canadians at the discretion of the Prime Minister[1]. With ceremonial, military, and religious elements incorporated, state funerals are offered and executed by the Government of Canada which provides a dignified manner for the Canadian people to mourn a national public figure.

Indeed.... Layton did a lot during his time, he helped a lot of people, he was a very good political adversary who hardly ever let things slip by without bringing attention to them.... he spoke his mind, he spoke like a normal human being and in terms most could understand without beating around the bush.... regardless of all the political mud flinging between the party leaders over the years, especially during elections, they didn't hate each other's guts on a personal level..... Layton showed determination and spoke of being positive and to keep fighting when things look tough..... he ran a very successful election campaign even while he was fighting prostate cancer and busted a hip..... he still went out there like nothing changed and with a smile.

Even when he knew the end was near, he still took the time to write a letter to all those that mattered to speak of encouragement, optimism, and to keep fighting for what you believe in..... as if the country and all of us as citizens were actually important and it wasn't just a job.

It seems sometimes that there simply aren't enough people like that in the world today and out of all the people out there, I personally feel he deserves a State Funeral..... and Harper gains respect from me for giving it to him and I actually makes me feel Harper isn't such a bad guy after all & actually does have a heart.

 

[damngrumpy]

Sometimes I am amazed at what I read. Tradition gives this decision to the Prime Minister and yes it
is his decision to make. The way government works, the way parliament works and how government
ministries work should be common knowledge to all Canadians that way everyone would have some
idea of what the hell they are talking about. It is not all about whether we should spend a few bucks or
not its about doing what is considered the right thing. Its funny, Harper could have just let it go but he
showed that even he, admired his opposition counterpart. I am very please that Harper just did what
he did. No he didn't have too, and that shows that even in the chilly winds of political autumn in this
country there is room for civility.
I personally don't know how everything works in fine detail but I do have some knowledge of what takes
place and what is and is not in proper taste. Many years ago I ran as a Federal Candidate, and I think
if more people actually took that challenge on they would have a different view of our system and maybe
understand that it actually works most of the time. Many would find out that for every schnook there are
ten people that work really hard, their constituents we only hear about the ones that went wrong most of
the time. Today we hear about one that went right and went above and beyond what was expected of
him.
All too often we define this or that and put forward a simple solution and wonder why these people can't
do that. I found out years ago that when decisions are made their can be serious drawbacks if all the
angles are not covered. Food policy or lack of it is going to bite us in the very near future, we opted for
a cheap food policy and that is going to have some very expensive results, and the list goes on.
Jack Layton had the ability to see what was coming, and instead of just being a blow hard he worked with
other politicians, other community leaders, and people on the front line of a problem to find a lasting and
practical solution. Now sometimes we didn't agree with his direction, but at least we knew where he was
going and where he was planning to go, and we didn't have to question his honesty. Today people respect
him for that.