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Newsstand: August 23, 2011
Tuesday, a day of news and a day of shoes and a day for all to see. It's Tuesday. In the news: Torontonians mourn the loss of Jack Layton like only Torontonians can, the province pledges money to stormed-out Goderich, and Tim Hudak wants to help students get into even more debt.
The loss of Jack Layton is being felt from coast to coast to coast, but maybe nowhere will mourn quite like Toronto, the city that saw first hand what Jack was capable of, and what he could have done on the national stage. As Jack’s final message to us all made the rounds yesterday—a message of enduring love, hope, and optimism—Torontonians crowded into Nathan Philips Square to share their own messages. The sometimes harsh-looking square is being transformed into a colourful collection of well-wishes, condolences, grief, and memories as Torontonians take chalk to concrete.
Layton served for 18 years on Toronto councils before and after amalgamation, and it was here he cut his political teeth. Layton helped create the Toronto Atmospheric Fund and reshaped the relationship between municipal governments and their provincial and federal counterparts. He fought for our city’s most vulnerable citizens, and sometimes even convinced Rob Ford, his seatmate in Ford’s first council term, to vote alongside him. Ford told reporters that Layton was a “people’s politician,” and his great passion and oratorical ability was sometimes enough to sway those with opposing views, like himself. Footage of the bushy-haired and (giant ’80s) bespectacled Layton in his jeans-wearing days is flooding the internet and TV screens, reminding this city of the man Jack was. Former mayors Mel Lastman and David Miller, and deputy mayor Doug Holyday all remember Jack as a man who could bring people together, and who fought passionately for citizens who sometimes felt powerless and invisible. And when Jack Layton fought for Toronto, everyone noticed.
A state funeral will be held for Layton on Saturday at Roy Thomson Hall. And in lieu of flowers, the Layton family is asking that donations be made to the Broadbent Institute, a left-leaning think tank. One of the most resounding messages in the wake of this loss is the one Jack gave himself: Don’t let them tell you it can’t be done. NDP MPs and staffers are vowing to continue Jack’s work.
In other news, the province has pledged five million dollars to help the “prettiest town in Canada” rebuild after a devastating storm on Sunday. Historic buildings and one-hundred-year-old trees were destroyed in an instant as an F3 tornado tore through Goderich, about 225 km west of Toronto. Residents had only 12 minutes warning before the storm hit, ravaging the town on the shores of Lake Huron.
And Tim Hudak is promising more cash for students should he win the provincial election. The PC leader is proposing to take money from the Liberals’ foreign student scholarship program and put the funds into loans for Ontario students. Hudak’s plan would increase the amount some students get, and allow some previously ineligible students to accrue student debt. Yippee!