Dear Jack...

It's interesting how a complete stranger can change your life and one year ago today, Jack Layton died. I cried. I cried because we lost a champion of the labour movement. I cried because we lost a man who cared about the working people in this country. I cried because we lost a great Canadian. 

 I didn't know Jack personally. I got to meet him at one of CUPE conventions a few years ago. He shook my hand, said hello and smiled that famous mustachey smile. He always lit up the room at convention - he was articulate and inclusive. He wanted everyone in on the speech. He was always passionate - whether it was about pension reform, childcare, education, economics or the environment, he was passionate about everything. 
At at the 2011 Canadian Labour Congress Convention he walked into a room of almost 3000 trade unionists from coast to coast to coast. You would have thought Bono had arrived by the reaction he got! It was right after the federal election where he had just been elected the Leader of the Official Opposition - the first ever for the NDP. On the stage sat the national executive board of the CLC, mostly middle aged white men, who were all crying. And they all said the same thing - they never thought in their lifetime that they would see the NDP in the position of official opposition. Jack was on the stage with his signature smile, waving his cane in the air and a triumphant solidarity fist. It was electric and emotional because we knew with Jack and his caucus, working people would have a voice in the House of Commons. 

You could say he really tried to change the political game of Canadian politics. He did not play US style of smear campaigns rather he stood up for all Canadians keeping his campaign focused on the issues at hand not the personal digs and jabs that Harper and Ignatieff were engaged in the media. It was a brilliant political move that showed that Ignatieff wasn't the only PHD in town. 

 Having the moral courage to stand up for what you believe in is difficult. When Olivia Chow (Jack's wife) addressed last year's CUPE National Convention she told us the story of the filibuster for when the Harper government legislated CUPW workers back to work. The Conservatives chanted "Union Jack! Union Jack! Union Jack!," meant to be an insult, but he smiled and took it as a compliment. We have seen many politicians backed by labour but have been very careful to not really say that they are connected to unions. Jack was proud to have labour values and to be associated with us and showed Canadians that "union" is not a dirty word.
2010 CUPE BC Convention
When I was in Ottawa in June I attended question period. I watched the young guns from Quebec present passionate and eloquent speeches on the issues in their communities. The NDP caucus was something to be proud of because they did not heckle or jeer their counterparts on the other side of the house. That is Jack Layton's legacy. 

 His final words for Canadians hangs on my fridge. It's the affirmation I read when I have a bad day or think that I am doing all of this for nothing. Jack Layton inspired me to get involved in my community, in provincial and federal politics. I can't help but look at Canada with hope, love and optimism because we can change the world, we all have a voice and we ALL matter. 



Thank you Jack. 

 July 18, 1950-August 22, 2011

 www.dearjack.ca 

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