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Details of Funeral for Jack Layton Confirmed
NDP representatives have confirmed plans for a state funeral for Jack Layton, according to CBC News. In addition to a service at Roy Thomson Hall this Saturday at 2 p.m., Layton will lie in state at City Hall on Friday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., after members of the public in Ottawa have a chance to pay their respects on Wednesday and Thursday. Officials planning the service at Roy Thompson Hall are working on ways to accommodate overflow crowds, as the venue has a 2,500-seat capacity and there will be 1,700 guests, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper, former Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe, many MPs, senators, premiers, and Layton’s friends and family. In lieu of flowers, the NDP are requesting that people give donations in Layton’s memory to the Broadbent Institute, a think tank that’s affiliated with the party.