Jack Layton: A real gentleman and a citizen politician - 1950 to 2011

I am privileged to have once met and interviewed The Honourable Jack Layton. He was introducing three local candidates at Bar Bobards on boulevard St-Laurent during the 2006 election.

At least two of those candidates, it should be noted, were fervent Québec nationalists whose acceptance speeches left little doubt they were steadfastly looking for a platform to push Québecois separatism.

I should note that I had previously formed a rather withering opinion of Jack's father (the Honourable Robert Layton) when as a cub reporter during the 1988 election, I saw him in action as a Mulroney Progressive Conservative incumbent, getting booed at an all-candidates debate for suggesting Lac St-Louis water would become clean enough to drink if Mulroney was given a second mandate. As it turned out, Robert Layton was easily re-elected by West Island voters who ultimately voted for him as default support for passage of the Free Trade Agreement with the United States.

Utterly honest
So I was curious to ask son Jack, back in 2006, why he'd spoken so reverently of his father - who had himself succumbed to prostate cancer some four years earlier - on the two occasions I had come out to see him speak as NDP leader. Well, Jack looked me square in the eye and said he had great respect for his father, but that didn't mean they saw eye-to-eye on very much, politically. In fact, he related, that was the one area they were always at loggerheads, notwithstanding having a loving and respectful relationship as father and son.

Can you imagine a more honest, human, and respectful answer? Not I. And I have no idea if my question - which I only posed because I had never heard him asked it before - caused him to rethink his stump speech. But I never again heard him speak of his father's influence when introducing himself as the NDP leader, as if he had determined the astute voter might be as confused as I was, given their almost diametrically opposed politics.

It is in this spirit that I remember and revere the man whom I unfortunately must still blame (partially, at least) for putting Harper in the PM chair, by whipping his party to vote down the Martin government; something historians will doubtlessly argue was or wasn't a seminal moment in the NDP's existential journey as an independent political force.

A mixed legacy on policy
I also recall his insistence on going cap and trade instead of carbon tax when the latter made more sense, and finding his reasoning on that choice rather wanting. I recall with sadness his decision to have his party vote against a 2007 (?) Liberal motion to end the Afghanistan mission in July, 2009, based on the fact they really should be brought home immediately (he was quite right on that point of course), which unfortunately ended up with the misguided mission continuing on much longer. Also, Jack's reticence at allowing Green Party Leader Elizabeth May to be included in the 2008 election debates rankled.

Meanwhile, I championed Jack Layton grandly for forcing the 2005 Martin budget to be amended to halt planned corporate tax cuts while increasing social spending in the period where the NDP held the balance of power. I even voted for one of his throw-away candidates while living in the Outremont riding after Paul Martin had parachuted a former Bloc-Québecois founder (Jean Lapierre) in to take Martin Cauchon's place.

And yesterday morning I cried - yet not so much as on last July 25, when we all saw death tapping impatiently on Jack's shoulder - to hear of his passing.

Despite anything else, Jack Layton was a good egg. He tried. He fought. He brandished humour and a forthrightness that was touching and palpable in both official languages. He worked with dedication to his ideals with true and rare conviction. In short, he stood for something, and he made sure that it was a something he could get fully behind. Then he would make a convincing argument that you and I and every other Canadian could get behind it too.

As long as we listened to our hearts.

What next?
Now, a huge gabble of neophyte NDP Québec MPs will have to find their way in the HoC. They also must prove their worthiness to their constituents, despite being stripped of the coattails of the one guy in whom the voters put their full-throttle faith. And that was no small leap of faith either. These voters bravely abandoned their BQ candidates who had mostly done nothing less than tirelessly represent their constituents' interests in Ottawa with pride and passion for several years.

No, the Bloquistes can only blame their party's connection with separatism on their historic defeat to the mostly unknown Dippers that won their constituents' votes based almost solely on Jack Layton's endorsement. Continued NDP support in Québec will be a very tough sell, regardless of Thomas Mulcair's considerable respect in this province.

But that sort of speculation should be explored another day. For today, I am pleased that our Prime Minister has been honourable enough (against type) to bequeath a state funeral for Jack Layton.

Hard to believe as I type his name that he is no longer with us.

Jack, all in all, you did good by us Canadians. Posthumous gratitude in spades. Many, many thanks. RIP, if that is at all possible for you!

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French Debate Kicked Ass (mostly Harper's)

I hope people were watching, because tonight's French-language leaders' debate was lively, passionate and substantive. After fighting sleep at about the half-way point in yesterday's English-language debate, tonight I found myself riveted.

This is in no small part due to Gilles Duceppe's fiery energy tonight, after being content to sit quietly on the side-lines for much of the previous night. But also, because Ignatieff really came across, and contrasted strongly against Harper, who himself seemed unsure of his French, and off his game generally. I found Harper did not seen strong tonight, which is the worst thing for the guy who is the current PM to convey.

Layton was taken off his game again by Duceppe's jabbing on the Bill 101 question. Harper's only really good moment was when he pointed at the two of them and asked the audience to imagine them working together in a coalition. That's not saying all that much.

Duceppe went whole-hog on his separatist cred tonight, and that is perhaps a sign he may be setting down some touchstones for a potential jump to provincial politics. He may be positioning himself to take the Parti-Québecois mantle from Pauline Marois, who appears weak going into a confidence vote among the party faithful in coming weeks.

Back to Ignatieff. He looked tough, secure and in charge. His French was generally good, and when it wasn't, his obvious passion made up for it. That is key for the Québec population, so good on him. He can ride this into a lead in coming days.

Again, that's if he plays his cards right.

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Greens, NDP to merge; Layton and May step aside, with support of key Liberal defectors

Could you just imagine a headline like that? Only if you accept the fact that the federal Liberal party is finished as a viable political entity. It was this particular realization, coupled with Warren Kinsella's post earlier today, that got me thinking along these lines.

Michael Ignatieff, since wresting control of the Liberal Party of Canada a year ago, what have you accomplished? You raised some cash and bored people to tears at every lectern that would plug in a mic for you. Then last Autumn, you boldly stated you were going to challenge the PM in an election at the first opportunity. Then you backed down sheepishly and announced you would be hosting a fabulous thinkers' conference the following Spring.

Allow me to let you in on something (I pray you are sitting down): believe it or not, within hours of its closing, scarcely anyone in this country noticed your big ol' "thinkers conference" even took place. Your middling popularity perpetually wanes like the attention of students listening to a meandering lecture on the nuances of meaning in a post-modern world; their minds wandering as they wonder how their liberal education will ever help them land a meaningful job with hope of putting more than a bit of food on their families' tables.

Meanwhile you and your party are getting railroaded at every turn by a wily, unscrupulous opponent. Your brightest stars and best ideas are the equivalent of Ovechkins and Kovalchuks on otherwise directionless teams, fizzling out hopelessly when the time comes to put up or shut up. Not since Robert Stanfield has a major party been led by someone with such a mix of blandness and dubiously-principled mediocrity.

I hope it hasn't escaped your attention that, when lumped together, the Greens and the Dippers are the favoured option of more Canadians than your own party, historied and entrenched as it is. As a scholar, I trust you can see the significance of this. Tilt at your right-centre windmills all you want, but it isn't getting you anywhere (least of all, into 24 Sussex).

Jack Layton, dear Jack, please please, do go (yes, now). You have done a decent job making your party politically relevant again without completely selling the furniture. You and your party's members have been stalwart cage rattlers and fought the good fight (mostly). Alas, you have had your chance to get the country to trust you and it just hasn't happened. Face facts, Jack, and step aside to allow a fresh face to come forward that can inspire more than just your base.

Elizabeth May, dear Elizabeth, you have gallantly tried to unseat a nasty bit of work in Peter MacKay, and have sold out too easily in launching yourself across the country in search of that magic riding that can propel Canada's first GPC member into the HoC (oh, teehee, would that be you, personally ***blush***?), but this is starting to get ridiculous. No other candidate is helping the cause - if that is the true goal - except by providing more federal dollars to the party coffers just by being so hopelessly listed on the ballots of all the nation's ridings; and thus giving the local Harpercons an even better chance of coming up the middle to win those ridings without any real support. This strategy has sadly failed you and the Greens for two elections now, despite owning the moral high ground definitively. You are an eloquent and intelligent leader, but it just is not going to happen. Please understand this and step aside for a new leader to take hold of a new, merged party.

So who are the party backroomers with the courage, pull and good sense to will this sort of merger to happen? Which individual has the fire, moxie, charisma, wherewithal, smarts and financial backing to make a run of it in leading such a party?

Who will lead the United Progressive Party of Canada?

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Iggy (Ford Prefect) and Jack (Mr. Prosser) Layton star in: "Ottawa Bulldozer"

H/T to the late, great, Douglas Adams...

The excerpt below came to mind while reading Jack the Obstructionist over at Section 15.

Ford stared at Arthur, who began to think that perhaps he did
want to go to the Horse and Groom after all.

"But what about my house ...?" he asked plaintively.

Ford looked across to Mr Prosser, and suddenly a wicked thought
struck him.

"He wants to knock your house down?"

"Yes, he wants to build ..."

"And he can't because you're lying in front of the bulldozers?"

"Yes, and ..."

"I'm sure we can come to some arrangement," said Ford. "Excuse
me!" he shouted.

Mr Prosser (who was arguing with a spokesman for the bulldozer
drivers about whether or not Arthur Dent constituted a mental
health hazard, and how much they should get paid if he did)
looked around. He was surprised and slightly alarmed to find that
Arthur had company.
"Yes? Hello?" he called. "Has Mr Dent come to his senses yet?"

"Can we for the moment," called Ford, "assume that he hasn't?"

"Well?" sighed Mr Prosser.

"And can we also assume," said Ford, "that he's going to be
staying here all day?"

"So?"

"So all your men are going to be standing around all day doing
nothing?"

"Could be, could be ..."

"Well, if you're resigned to doing that anyway, you don't
actually need him to lie here all the time do you?"

"What?"

"You don't," said Ford patiently, "actually need him here."

Mr Prosser thought about this.

"Well no, not as such...", he said, "not exactly need ..."
Prosser was worried. He thought that one of them wasn't making a
lot of sense.

Ford said, "So if you would just like to take it as read that
he's actually here, then he and I could slip off down to the pub
for half an hour. How does that sound?"

Mr Prosser thought it sounded perfectly potty.

"That sounds perfectly reasonable," he said in a reassuring tone
of voice, wondering who he was trying to reassure.

"And if you want to pop off for a quick one yourself later on,"
said Ford, "we can always cover up for you in return."

"Thank you very much," said Mr Prosser who no longer knew how to
play this at all, "thank you very much, yes, that's very kind
..." He frowned, then smiled, then tried to do both at once,
failed, grasped hold of his fur hat and rolled it fitfully round
the top of his head. He could only assume that he had just won.

"So," continued Ford Prefect, "if you would just like to come
over here and lie down ..."

"What?" said Mr Prosser.

"Ah, I'm sorry," said Ford, "perhaps I hadn't made myself fully
clear. Somebody's got to lie in front of the bulldozers haven't
they? Or there won't be anything to stop them driving into Mr
Dent's house will there?"

"What?" said Mr Prosser again.
"It's very simple," said Ford, "my client, Mr Dent, says that he
will stop lying here in the mud on the sole condition that you
come and take over from him."

"What are you talking about?" said Arthur, but Ford nudged him
with his shoe to be quiet.

"You want me," said Mr Prosser, spelling out this new thought to
himself, "to come and lie there ..."

"Yes."

"In front of the bulldozer?"

"Yes."

"Instead of Mr Dent."

"Yes."

"In the mud."

"In, as you say it, the mud."

As soon as Mr Prosser realized that he was substantially the
loser after all, it was as if a weight lifted itself off his
shoulders: this was more like the world as he knew it. He sighed.

"In return for which you will take Mr Dent with you down to the
pub?"

"That's it," said Ford. "That's it exactly."

Mr Prosser took a few nervous steps forward and stopped.

"Promise?"

"Promise," said Ford. He turned to Arthur.

"Come on," he said to him, "get up and let the man lie down."

Arthur stood up, feeling as if he was in a dream.

For the uninitiated, the above is an excerpt from Chapter One of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Advice to the GG: if asked to Prorogue, Make him Sweat!

I see that to top it off, Harper has embarrassingly inconvenienced the office of the Governor-General of Canada. With Michaëlle Jean forced to cancel her trip and fly home early, I suspect Harper will pull out all the stops and ask her to prorogue Parliament before the Opposition benches have a chance to vote in line with their oft and clearly stated position that his government has lost the confidence of a majority of the MPs.

If he does request a prorogation, one suspects that he will hold out as long as possible first while he shores up support for this action among his caucus and grassroots, in order to minimize the negative reaction to "pulling the fire alarm" in this way.

Now, I am no constitutional scholar, and I don't suppose Jean would be very comfortable in not granting a prorogation should Harper request it; but here is an interesting idea to let the G-G off the hook (at least partially):

What is to stop her from deciding to consult with her advisors and take say, a few days' deliberations before making her decision on whether to grant the request? That could even take her as much as a week, perhaps. And if the Opposition acts on the floor of the House to formally declare non-confidence in the meantime, then would not the prorogation request itself be prorogued (or negated?)

Call it the "Let me get back to you when I get back to you" option.

You're quite welcome, your Excellency

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Dion Misunderestimated Again

The strategy of the emerging Liberal/NDP coalition government is evidently designed to drive Peevey Stevie so insanely enraged that his head explodes before the afternoon is out.

The goal is to inform Ms. Jean that a viable alternative to the current government exists within the current Parliament, in the form of a coalition between the Liberal Party and the NDP. The Bloc is expected to promise to support the coalition to survive for at least a year, which would allow for the passage of two budgets.

"We've decided that the only person and the best person to lead and form a coalition government is the elected leader of our party ... Stéphane Dion," said leadership hopeful Dominic LeBlanc.

"We are comfortable with that, we support that and we think that's right."

I, for one, can't wait for Harper to blow up.

Harper and Layton CAVE: the day belongs to May

Victory for democracy!

Mother May I? The answer is now yes. From here on in Canada, May Day may now be celebrated on 10 September. Thank you Mr. Layton, and Mr. Harper, for putting an end to this silliness and respecting the will of the vox populi (as well as good ol' common decency).

Dare we hope that this might become a trend?

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Mother May I? Layton ties himself in knots, while Harper clams up

You won't have to try hard to read between the lines of this CP report on Layton's appearance, wherein he proves that he has the requisite two sides of one mouth to live up to our current Prime Minister's standard.

REGINA - Jack Layton says the NDP's reputation for fighting the establishment and championing the underdog is intact despite his refusal to allow the Green Party a podium at the televised debates.

The New Democrat leader is on the defensive over the decision to exclude Green Party Leader Elizabeth May from the Oct. 1 event.

At a Regina coffee house, Layton told a breakfast crowd of cheering supporters that the NDP won't "let the old interests and powerful sectors" stand in the party's way.

But later, he defended excluding May by saying she had already endorsed Liberal Leader Stephane Dion for prime minister.

Layton also tried to shift responsibility for the decision to the television networks that will host the event.

Some NDP supporters at a Monday night rally in Vancouver expressed shock at the party's stand.

No kidding they expressed shock. Enough that Layton figured he couldn't keep running for cover any longer, evidently.

As for Peevey Stevie, after whining on and on yesterday about how unfair it would be to have to face May, he's evidently decided that's not the right side of the issue to be on after all, and today is shutting his yap on the matter (looks like he already winded himself apologizing for his pooping puffin problems).

And we thought the American election was entertaining? Heck, we've even got "Scandalpedia" now (courtesy of the Grits).

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Layton, Harper taking cues from McCain more than Obama

It's really sad how NDP leader Jack Layton has reacted to the Mother May I? question. Here is a guy who has huge posters put up (see the corner of St-Laurent and Jean-Talon in Montreal) with just his own name and mustachioed grin. He daily stands at a podium with only his name emblazoned upon it. He is flying in a campaign plane with only his name on the side in giant letters. Yet he wouldn't take ownership of his decision to deny Elizabeth May's voice at the upcoming televised leadership debates by speaking to the media about it himself. Instead, he sent his spokesperson to explain it, and belied his claim to strong leadership himself by meekly choosing to duck reporters' questions.

Layton was hustled away by handlers when reporters tried to clarify if he had said he would pull out.

"I'm looking forward to debating the prime minister," was his only comment.

Before Lavigne spoke, another NDP official speaking off record said that a negotiator for Layton had told network organizers that he would have to "reconsider" his participation but had not threatened to boycott.

And then the NDP spokesperson couldn't resist promoting the entirely false meme (that may have been true two elections ago) of the Green Party being a one-issue party. Seems to me that if your actions do not jibe with your rhetoric, you are not doing anything to gain the trust of voters who have been skeptical of your party for decades. It reminds me of a line from Obama's incredible DNC acceptance speech: "He just doesn't get it." Of course the 'he' Obama was referring to was his Republican counterpart, John McCain, but it surely applies to Mr. Layton on this day.

For the record, the Vision Green is a 160-page tome in pdf, and covers the economy, taxation, public security, Afghanistan and just about everything in the federal realm and beyond:

Vision Green presents leading-edge thinking and rational, realistic solutions for all the issues facing Canadians. It was developed by a 31-member Green Shadow Cabinet and was informed by experts, activists and citizens who participated in policy workshops held across Canada. All the proposals are based on policies approved by the membership of the Green Party.

Green Party solutions are rational because the Green Party, unlike other parties, understands the scientifically verified limits to growth set by the carrying capacity of our planet. We must work within these limits. Otherwise, we will exhaust resources, degrade our environment and put our economy, health and children’s future at risk.

Our solutions are realistic because they follow “best practices” already in place in parts of Canada or other countries. These practices are cost-effective, deliver results and benefit people, the economy and the environment.

The Green Party’s down-to-earth solutions will work in Canada because they have worked around the world. Many have been successfully applied in Europe, where Greens are elected at all political levels, including the European Union and national parliaments. Countries where Greens have served in government are the countries creating new high-paying jobs while simultaneously meeting targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They are the countries where the gap between rich and poor is small and the standard of living is high. These countries don’t trade off the environment for the economy. Their economies and environmental laws are both strong.

Many people find it hard to position the Green Party on the old political spectrum. We believe in sound fiscal management and strengthening our economy while ensuring that it is sustainable. Does that mean we are “right wing”? We believe that government must provide needed social services while protecting our environment and the rights of women, minorities and disadvantaged people. Does that make us “left wing”? We don’t think so. More and more people are simply thinking of the Green Party as the party of the future.

The Green Party is different from other parties in another important way. We will never place the pursuit of power above principle. We will not allow partisan politics to get in the way of good ideas and needed action. We agree with Canadians who say it’s time for parties in parliament to stop bickering and get on with the job of combating climate change and taking better care of our environment, our health and our economy.

Let's not forget Harper's atrocious behaviour in this matter - he was the first one to spread lies and threaten to boycott the whole affair if the Green Party leader was given a seat, perhaps to protect the shaky seat held by his lil buddy, Junior MacKay, against whom May is running herself.
Why not just letElizabethspeak.ca, guys? Or are you enjoying this media storm that's taking you all off-message?

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