Photo by Jackman Chiu
On the morning of my birthday, August 22, we were doing our usual breakfast time things when suddenly the TV announced that Jack Layton had passed. What a shock! It hit me like a ton of bricks. It was amazing to witness the coverage on CBC and other channels – it reminded me of the fanfare and mourning that accompanied the death of Pierre Trudeau. One of the amazing things I remember about that was sitting with my mother and watching the train that transported Trudeau and his sons from Ottawa to Montreal, and how amazing it was when the camera captured people standing at railway crossings waving and the sons leaning out windows to engage with the well-wishers.
It is a sad and profound moment. At 61 Layton was truly just hitting his stride. Could he have been PM? It’s possible. There is a swing going on now in politics – the greens are gaining and young people are seemingly turning to the left. When they interviewed a group of twenty-somethings in a restaurant after the televised leaders debates during the last election, nearly every one of them said “Jack won.” I think it was partly his charisma, and partly a left-leaning wave. There are always waves and times of momentum, and right now Harper is riding his, but times will change, and he will be replaced. Will it be by an NDP, Liberal or Coalition leader? No one can say.
Jack was important to me and I am left very saddened by this turn of events. I remembered how gaunt he looked in his last television appearance but I assumed he was in recovery and going to gain strength and come back fighting. This time also reminds me of my mother’s battle with cancer. She too had ups and downs before she finally lost her battle. Jack represented a genuine force for the common good. He was the champion of what is right, and would engage in battles for the little guy – meaning the urban poor, women, children and seniors. He was particularly vocal on the behalf of seniors and that was an endearing quality. Of course he was a friend to the workers and battled for the environment too.
There is one particularly amazing scene that I have in my mind about Jack and his public persona and public battles. Some would say he had a bit of the grand-stander in him, but I argue that his pedigree, work ethic and talent for speaking just produced the right combination of characteristics to allow him to rise to the fore in many public forums of debate. He was an all-star city councillor and was frequently found at the front lines, at a protest, or discussing among a group at a public debate. This scene I have in my mind is one found in the documentary “The Mayor of Tent City,” which documents the brief existence of “Tent City” – a shantytown on Toronto’s waterfront that existed around 2000. The movie centres on a charismatic German emigree who the homeless denizens look to for leadership, but also turns the lens on Jack Layton, who is right in the thick of it when the police and bulldozers come calling. Here is what the CBC website report said:
City councillor Jack Layton, who is also running for the leadership of the federal NDP, said the evictions underline the homelessness problem in the city.
“As we’ve been pointing out for years, we need some affordable housing built,” said Layton. “At least at Tent City they’d built themselves a warm place for the winter.”
Jack Layton was a hero to me. It is obvious but can be restated – he was such a powerful figure that people would definitely vote NDP rather than for the local NDP candidate. He was consistently rated higher in polls than Harper or Ignatieff. The only elite politician with his kind of pull is probably Elizabeth May, and she is indeed a fighter as well, but the Greens may take many more years, perhaps decades, before they even get remotely into contention with centre-left parties like the NDP.
Truth be told, up until this summer I didn’t know much about Jack. It was a Maclean’s magazine piece on his life and legacy that really blew me away, and made me feel I understood the confluence of factors that brought him to that pedestal of power where he was but one step away from the PM’s office. Quite a rise, from city council to the highest echelons. Jack came from an elite background in Anglo Montreal, but was quite naturally a true man of the people – down to earth, earnest, vociferous on many issues and fronts, and it is these qualities that mark his legacy and instill powerful memories that will not dim for a long, long while. Rest in peace Jack.
Links:
Photographer Jackman Chiu
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lewolf011/
Maclean’s article – a MUST READ – The Life and Time’s of Jack Layton
http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/06/17/the-making-of-jack-layton/
Macleans article – Jack Layton’s Amazing Race
http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/04/29/jacks-amazing-race/
BlogTO – Hundreds rally to remember Jack Layton
http://www.blogto.com/city/2011/08/hundreds_rally_in_toronto_to_remember_jack_layton/
CBC Article on Toronto’s “Tent City”
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2002/09/24/tentcity_eviction020924.html
Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Layton
The movie “The Mayor of Tent City” can be found in the Toronto Public Library.
Great article…very nice read Mike, and I liked your personal reflections on the time Trudeau passed and also on Jack’s work at the time of the ‘Tent City’ issue. Great piece!
Thanks – glad you liked it.