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64 Comments February 28, 2010 at 9:10 pm

news

Jack Layton Wants To Make Sure You See Him Celebrating That Goal!

Jack Layton spent the Olympic men’s gold medal hockey game (we won!) at Wayne Gretzky’s Restaurant, right in front of the bar, and right in front of CTV’s cameras trained on the crowd there.
Towards the end of the second intermission, just before going to commercial, CTV showed reactions to Canada’s second goal from “across the country.” And then, after a cut from a Nova Scotia crowd’s reaction to the crowd at Gretzky’s: magic. With wife Olivia Chow nearby, Layton celebrates the goal for just a second, before turning from the TV that’s playing the game to face the CTV camera instead, trying to move his body out from behind those around him, and then—when a woman’s arm raised in ecstatic celebration blocks his face from the shot—Layton takes his outstretched hand and, still smiling, grabs her arm and forces it down and out of the way as the shot fades out.
Video of the moment in all its awkward glory, captured by our Christopher Drost, is above.

Comments

http://undefined james a

I dunno, you do kinda have to give the guy credit for managing to look human while enjoying the games. That puts him ahead of Iggy, Harper, Gordon Campbell, or the mayor of Vancouver whose name I have forgotten..
http://undefined Craig C

Yes, they’ve all been pretty forgettable. The athletes, however, have been amazing. Congratulations to every one of them!
http://undefined andy75

What a total shmuck.
This guy is nothing more than an opportunist and an attention seeker.
http://undefined Canuck222

He is pathetic. Imagine what it took for him to weasel his way over to the bar closest to the camera and stay there for 3 hours. He is not celebrating he is being totally opportunistic. I hated seeing him on that camera. Does he think we are that stupid..oh, geez what a coincidence..there is Jack Layton…what are the chances. This is the picture of a small shallow man. Instead of celebrating an authentic Canadian moment he and his wife are campaigning. What a total loser.
http://undefined andy75

Oh, they do think we are stupid.
Remember when he was trying to align the NDP with the Democratic Party during Obama’s election Campaign? Weak Game – and some Canadians ate it up.
I have to admit I have one thing in common with Jack & Olivia, I also believe the electorate at large to be generally stupid and ill informed…
http://undefined rek

At least he didn’t stab democracy in the face so he’d have the time off to watch the games in person.
http://undefined Usus

No, but he’s more than willing to prop up the man who did when it is politically expedient for him.
http://undefined babs

James, what are you talking about or smoking, How does that put him ahead of Harper, Campbell and the Mayor of Vancouver who were at the games and the PM was at the BIG Hockey Game sitting along side Campbell so what planet are you on anyway. Now, Iggy, I no think he was at anything Olympic so wake up man and as you can read here I’m not the only one stating this
http://undefined babs

YES, YES, YES
http://undefined babs

I couldn’t agree with you more Usus
http://undefined bomboozie

He should have just done what Stephen Harper did, get free airfare, free executive class seats, free luxury hotel suites for him and all his friends, and 3 months off work, all at taxpayer expense. It’s good to be king.
http://undefined dowlingm

Seeing Harper cozying up to Gretzky and the Olympic medallists during the week? Gold doesn’t rub off onto slime but slime sure as hell can rub onto gold.
As for Layton, just one more round of “Notice me! Take me seriously! Notice me!”
When do the Reformative Party’s attack ads on Iggy because *he* wasn’t celebrating on CTV start? Something like “Was Count Ignatieff hiding because Russia got beaten?”
http://undefined R. C. Burton

If it wasn’t Layton, I’d almost feel sorry for the guy. How sad is that? He is such a pantload.
Hey bomboozie……….Do you know of any other P.M. who pays for attending events like this? Also, I hope you will be just as irked about the annual 14 week summer holiday all MPs take from Parliament, or the 7 week Christmas one plus another mid-winter break they give themselves. In the old days before air travel, well maybe but nowadays, it’s a sad joke on the taxpayer.
Hey dowlingm…….Iggy was probably having a meeting with his taxpayer funded media/propaganda team at the CBC.
http://undefined Peter K

Funny, I joked to my wife about the dude who looked like Jack Layton…it never once crossed my mind that he would soil himself by going to a bar or watching a hockey game.
Oh well, he probably tried to get the taxpayer next to him to pay his tab.
http://undefined james a

My goodness, angry much?
Iggy was definitely there, I saw him at least once being pictured in the crowd awkwardly looking happy, ditto for the mayor of Vancouver obviously, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget Harper being shown giving high fives to his neighbours during the men’s curling semifinal and looking like he had no idea if he was even doing it right.
Layton, for all of his flaws, did genuinely look like he was having a good time at this event, and that’s allllll I’m saying. Sheesh.
http://undefined rek

You must not be aware that Layton’s been agitating to limit/remove the PM’s ability to prorogue parliament.
Politically expedient? Sure, as much as any politician. Buddies? No.
http://undefined rek

Then you don’t know Jack. I’ve seen him doing groceries in shorts and a t-shirt. He’s a normal guy.
Darren

Yeah, I noticed that as well. He was trying to unravel a Team Canada scarf while being conveniantly placed in the front row. If anyone else did the grandstanding that he did we here at the Torontoist would have singlehandedly crashed the internet with all the abusive comments
But since its Jack, who walks on water, all the sheep fall in line
Baaaaaaa
Darren

And it was Jack. I have the whole game on PVR and can take a print screen if anyone has any doubts of his pushing people out of the way in attempt to get 2 seconds of national fame. What a loser. He wasnt there in the first few shots of that bar, but once he noticed the camera he (and his staff) made their way to the front.
Darren

Well he can run for the role of PM…..oh yeah he did a few times and failed each time worse then the last
http://undefined Canuck222

Normal guy Rek? Yeah that is what he wants to portray. But he stayed there for 3 hours. My God you must be a card carrying member of his staff. I voted NDP last time but this guy is just losing it. You can seen him throughout the whole game trying to ensure we see him being a “normal guy..just watching the game”. Rek why are you posting numerous times defending this pretend man? Agreed Harper and Iggy are not much better but this is so transparent.
http://undefined Ted

There was another scene earlier from the bar where Layton had one hand grabbing onto the bar and the other sticking out, trying to hold back the surging crowd. He kept looking up at the camera. See if you can find that segment on CTV.
When I saw that, I actually thought it was kinda sweet because it seemed like he was trying to keep the crowd back from crushing his much smaller wife, Olivia Chow.
In retrospect however, with him looking up at the camera, carefully positioned directly in front of the camera, and pushing that young cheering Canadian’s arm out of the way, I’m having second thoughts.
http://undefined tikiliberationfront

C’mon people, separate the politics from the man. I find his behaviour there reprehensible but indicative of the sort of individual he has appeared to me to be over the years. This has nothing to do with the party and its policies but everything to do with the person.
mark.

I fail to see what the issue is. That he’s at a bar watching the Olympics and wants to be on TV (acting like everyone else jostling to get in the shot)? Or is it that people who don’t like general NDP values enjoy taking shots at the leader at any chance? Or is it that people on the left don’t really connect with him anymore?
http://undefined spacejack

I dunno, it’s starting to look like a pile-on to me.
Frankly, I think a certain amount of obnoxiousness comes with being a politician… or just about any public figure.
Which is why I lean smaller-government. They don’t need any more enabling.
http://undefined Peter K

Well I’m glad he does that. But when I lived in his Ward I watched him at Taste of the Danforth and other events run away from constituents.
http://undefined Darren

Will do and get back to you tomorrow. It would help if you can be a bit more specific with the time; ex after the first goal, etc.
http://undefined Darren

The guy was trying to ride off the Obama bandwagon by saying change this and change that in the election ads. Meanwhile Obama is as far right as Harper is, since Canada is well left of the US political spectrum
http://undefined Tara

Are you blind? I’m not a fan of Gordo but he was very enthusiastic about the games. Anyone that thinks this is anything but a lame publicity grab is obviously an NDP supporter
http://undefined Tara

NDP supporter are you? Or is it that you think it’s okay to grab and push strangers?
http://undefined Darren

Canuck is spot on, Layton has done a lot to lose NDP support. I voted Federally for the NDP in the election where Martin got a minority in 2004. Jack had just become the head of the NDP at the time. He quickly lost my vote within a few months of being in opposition. Just the garbage he used to say was irking me everday. A friend of mine who personally knew him and who had canvassed for him in his riding in 2004 said that she refused to do so when asked in the next federal election. This was in 2006 and we were in the middle of the best employment in 37 years, yet he was going on about job losses in some auto plants. Turns out she knew 2 of the people being laid off and they were getting massive packages including a free car budget. He lost my vote, her vote and her canvassing support. And from the looks of the last poll he has lost a lot more.
mark.

Tara, try reading before you comment.
http://undefined bomboozie

None that claim to be fiscally conservative.
http://www.torontoist.com David Topping

Our claims have been refuted by Layton’s press secretary! To the Globe, no less. I’m still having an awfully hard time seeing how it happened the way that Layton’s people are now claiming it did.
http://undefined Darren

What a stupid thing to say. All PMs go to events like this. None pay out of their pocket
If you dont like then please do us a favour, become a billionaire and get yourself elected then spend ONLY your money while in office you ignorant prick.
http://undefined vyw

So Brian Williams was canvassing the reaction from coast to coast after teh goal was scored which means that there is a tape delay while editors look for the best 2 seconds from various locales from NS on west – basically arms raising. That means in real time – Jack Layton and other are just watching the game on TV, which is basically Karl Belanger’s point, yes? My goodness, torontoist needs to work harder on the next conspiracy theory. Go Canada Go!
http://undefined Ted

‘Fraid not. It was just a quick scan of the different locales. I am pretty sure it was during an intermission and believe it was during the second. If that helps.
http://undefined weekendpictures.ca

A possible techie answer: Could the signal transmission delay from Toronto/Cole Harbour to Vancouver and back to Toronto/Cole Harbour be a factor? I noticed that it took a few seconds for the people in Toronto and Cole Harbour to react to seeing themselves on the TVs they were watching. Such delays can be up to 5 seconds. Perhaps Jack didn’t even know CTV had cut to Gretzky’s in Toronto at that moment. Regardless, I’m surprised his press people didn’t cite this as an excuse.
http://undefined babs

Oh, Sorry James. My husband and I didn’t see Iggy at all
http://undefined weekendpictures.ca

Looks like vyw and I posted our comments at the same time.
The director would have cut to the camera at Gretzky’s live on-the-fly, so it wouldn’t be a tape delay. Still, bouncing those signals back and forth across the country would result in a delay of 2-5 seconds for a viewer in Toronto.
http://piorkowski.ca/ qviri

“But when I lived in his Ward I watched him at Taste of the Danforth and other events run away from constituents.”
To be fair, if I was at the Taste of the Danforth I’d be trying to run away too, and not just from the constituents.
http://undefined rek

Numerous times? I posted once, then replied to someone replying to me, then again on a matter unrelated to this specific incident. Clearly I’m in the pocket of NDP Central Soviet.
Even if he did pull her arm down so everyone watching CTV at that moment could see him, it’s hardly unexpected for a politician to want to be seen in public, particularly if it serves some agenda or their public image*, and it isn’t remotely as bad as putting a halt to the entire democratic machinery of Canada so he can dodge uncomfortable questions about torture and hang out in Vancouver for three weeks.
Get a grip and get some perspective.
*Remember Harper’s sweaters and photos with kittens? Could anything be more contrived?
http://piorkowski.ca/ qviri

Actually… NDP won 13 seats (8.51%) in 2000 under Alexa McDonough, 19 seats (15.7%) in 2004 under Layton, 29 seats (17.5%) in 2006, and 37 seats (18.2%) in 2008.
I suppose you could say he “failed worse” if failing better is defined as winning less seats and less popular vote.
http://undefined vyw

hi weekend pictures
the goal was already scored, Brian Williams was cutting to commercials, the coast-to-coast celebrations were already recorded, then edited for simultaneous arm raising by fans coast to coast and Khandahar.
Layton wasnt watching himself on TV, he was watching the and reacting to the goal being scored.
I would guess like many of us (even today) waiting, searching for a replay. The shot was so quick and it went through the legs of Miller. I still can follow the puck as the shot was so quick. Anyways this was not live-on-the-fly, rather these video images were pieced together and shown when CTV went to commercial break. Writers at the Torontoist should know better.
http://undefined Darren

He failed when compared to what he promised to his supporters, and he never delivered the vote. He gave the impression to his supporters that he was intent on being the head of the opposition in place of the Liberals. Major let down to those who voted for him.
mark.

I couldn’t help but notice the tone of the comments here are rather different than I normally see on Torontoist. I clicked on the names of some of the commentors I’ve never seen before. I could be totally wrong, but the following have only ever left comments to this issue, and quite likely to have just signed up today for just that purpose: babs, tara, Andy75, Canuck222, Ted, bomboozie, R. C. Burton, vyw, and tikiliberationfront. Feel free to speculate on who they are and why they’ve done this.
http://undefined Darren

Yes we remember the sweaters. Jack was nice enough to reference them in almost every campaign speech.
How about Jack with his rolled up sleeves on his blue shirt, with the common “blue collar” guy look?? How was that for you Rex?
http://undefined Canuck222

I did just sign up today. Earlier in the day only the Torontoist picked up on Layton pandering to the camera. No other site in my search seemed to notice. Now see it in the Globe and so on. For some reason it really bothered me what Layton did. It is not just moving the other NDPer’s arm. It is that he sought out the camera and tried to score political points. CTV was shooting from Gretzky’s bar throughout the week. If the position of the NDP PR people is that this was just chance, that is unbelievable. What bothers me is this was a wonderful Canadian moment, and Layton’s shameless opportunism seemed cynical and in a sense dishonest. Most in the bar were there to cheer for our team, period. Layton was there to cheer for Canada and..oh yeah..Layton!
http://piorkowski.ca/ qviri

Even omitting the part where it is the voters, rather than Jack, who decide who gets to be official opposition, you seem to be grasping at straws. He came consistently closer to being opposition — how is this failing more?
http://undefined Darren

Because he the typical blowhard who comes out swinging and promising the moon and then does not deliver. If I voted for the NDP in 2006 and then 2008 I would have walked away thinking I just wasted my vote. He should move over and let someone else lead the party, someone with attainable goals.
rek

Yes, public image; I thought we covered that.
You really aren’t eager to discuss your right-wing messiah’s perversion of democracy. Why is that?
http://www.weekendpictures.ca weekendpictures.ca

You’re right vyw, Williams’ report was indeed made after the game and he did throw to a selected portion of recorded video featuring the bar’s reaction. I was actually referring to the game itself and whether or not Layton would have actually seen himself in the live feed on the TV in the bar at the very moment he pulled down the woman’s arm. Personally, I think he just wanted to see whatever was on the TV and not necessarily his fine moustache.
http://www.weekendpictures.ca weekendpictures.ca

Correction: Video of bar reaction was after the period, not the game.
Darren

Oh he is not my messiah, but he wasnt the first and he wont be the last to prorogue parliment
http://undefined andy75

I’m on here all the time. It’s a great snap shot of the city I live in.
I actually noticed Jack & Olivia during the game last night…..they were so obviously making for the camera. I saw this video this morning and had to comment.
Yeah, photo ops are fine – but I am so sick of these two ‘Camera Hogs’ pushing people around (I’ve witnessed it in person). As they say “…don’t get between Jack and a camera”.
And no Mark, I’m not sitting in the basement of the PC Party Office being paid to flood forums with propaganda….that conspiracy theory doesn’t hold water.
mark.

“I envy paranoids; they actually feel people are paying attention to them” – Susan Sontag
http://undefined andy75

So, do you mean you’re paranoid?
You said to feel free to speculate…I am just making full disclosure to save you from the mistake of jumping to conclusions.
http://undefined torontothegreat

…and in other news. I told a person who stood up to sit down during the movie…
http://undefined lister

On Sunday at 9:30am there was a lineup of 60 people deep waiting to get into Gretzky’s. At 11:30am the line went down Mercer St. I wonder if Jack & Olivia waited in line with the common folk. (We went to a better bar around the corner with better beer, better food and far less people but it still was a great experience.)
Anyways, during the game I saw them on TV at Gretzky’s and immediately noted “Oh look it’s Jack & Olivia smack dab in the middle of the TV shot. Figures. Fucking policitians!” It didn’t matter if that would have been Harper, Iggy, McGuinty, Miller, whomever, it was pathetic to see. It’s okay to go watch and celebrate with the people but don’t make it so blatantly obvious angling for the photo op.
I didn’t see the video above but now seeing it he’s a complete douche.
http://undefined Krantzstone

There are very few instances I can think of where I would be rude enough, or have the gall to place my hand on someone’s arm and physically pull it down. I wouldn’t even do that with my own family or very close friends of many years.
Barring extremely crowded public transit and trying to get by/off, I should think that kind of physical contact is overly… ‘familiar’. I know I wouldn’t like it if someone did that to me, even if my arm was in the way of someone’s view of a TV screen. They could just ask me to put my arm down, or if, like in a loud venue, I can’t hear them, they could tap me lightly on the shoulder or arm to get my attention and convey the message that they’d like me to put my arm down.
It just seemed to me to be extremely rude and, dare I say it, un-Canadian?
Of course, unless we can identify the person in question and ask them how they felt about the matter, one can never be sure. Maybe she really was perfectly fine with it, as the press release states. Or maybe as an NDP supporter she felt compelled to say she was alright with it (even if maybe she wasn’t?), because Jack Layton is the leader.
While speculation may be pointless, I have to reiterate that I personally wouldn’t have taken kindly to someone doing that to me.
And of course, I’m not suggesting it’s anywhere close to being as big a deal as Harper’s prorogation of Parliament, or the Liberal sponsorship scandal, etc.
But as can seen by some of the comments here, there are people who did interpret this incident as reflecting poorly upon Mr. Layton, and not all of those people are necessarily virulent anti-NDP.
http://undefined wchurchill100

Ironic that Mr. Layton was one of the main opponents to Toronto’s bid for the 1996 Summer Olympic games. Now he goes out of his way to bask in the glow of the Vancouver Olympics.
Many people say he is a “nice guy”, but it is easy to appear nice when you can just promise to spend and not ever worry about fiscal responsibility. This episode shows he may not be as nice as many think. And even if he is a “nice guy”, I certainly would not want him in charge of my country.
There are numerous examples in the world of what happens to a country when it is run by leaders who think more spending is the answer to everything. Argentina was once of the five wealthiest nations in the world until spendthrift leaders took over.
I hope for the sake of you Canadians that you will never have to endure the leadership of a man like Mr. Layton.
http://undefined El Torpedo

I just signed up today too, Mark. Guess what? I’m not a card carrying Tory, Liberal or actually affiliated with any political party, but the chance to pile on Layton is worth taking a minute to register.
http://undefined friend68

Meh. The “discussion” here is just another way for people who like Layton to defend him and those that don’t to vilify him. Yes, he played up the photo op and got caught being ridiculous. Yes, Harper went to the Olympics as a fan and as the Prime Minister, and sometimes looked okay and sometime looked like a nerd. Yes, Ignatief wasn’t around much.
None of that, or prorogation (sp?) is really going to effect any Canadian’s life half as much as any of the real issues or legislation.
Darren

Who knows
But I did like their previous ads where they used his own words against him along with the fact that he was airdropped into the riding and the country

Torontoist

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Jack Layton Wants To Make Sure You See Him Celebrating That Goal!

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