Dear Friends, Tens of thousands of Canadians have written to me in recent weeks to wish me well. I want to thank each and every one of you  for your thoughtful, inspiring and often beautiful notes, cards and gifts. Your spirit and love have lit up my home, my spirit, and my  determination. Unfortunately my treatment has not worked out as I hoped. So I am giving this letter to my partner Olivia to share with you in  the circumstance in which I cannot continue. I recommend that Hull-Aylmer MP Nycole Turmel continue her work as our interim leader until a permanent successor is elected. I recommend the party hold a leadership vote as early as possible in the new year, on approximately the same  timelines as in 2003, so that  our new leader has ample time to reconsolidate our team, renew our party and our program, and move forward  towards the next election.

 A few additional thoughts:

To other Canadians who are on journeys to defeat cancer and to live their lives, I say this: please don’t be discouraged that my own journey  hasn’t gone as well as I had hoped. You must not lose your own hope. Treatments and therapies have never been better in the face of this  disease. You have every reason to be optimistic, determined, and focused on the future. My only other advice is to cherish every moment with  those you love at every stage of your journey, as I have done this summer.

To the members of my party: We’ve done remarkable things together in the past eight years. It has been a privilege to lead the New  Democratic Party and I am most grateful for your confidence, your support, and the endless hours of volunteer commitment you have devoted  to our cause. There will be those who will try to persuade you to give up our cause. But that cause is much bigger than any one leader.

Answer them by recommitting with energy and determination to our work. Remember our proud history of social justice, universal health care,  public pensions and making sure no one is left behind. Let’s continue to move forward. Let’s demonstrate in everything we do in the four years  before us that we are ready to serve our beloved Canada as its next government.

To the members of our parliamentary caucus: I have been privileged to work with each and every one of you. Our caucus meetings were  always the highlight of my week. It has been my role to ask a great deal from you. And now I am going to do so again. Canadians will be  closely watching you in the months to come. Colleagues, I know you will make the tens of thousands of members of our party proud of you by  demonstrating the same seamless teamwork and solidarity that has earned us the confidence of millions of Canadians in the recent election.

To my fellow Quebecers: On May 2nd, you made an historic decision. You decided that the way to replace Canada’s Conservative federal  government with something better was by working together in partnership with progressive-minded Canadians across the country. You made the  right decision then; it is still the right decision today; and it will be the right decision right through to the next election, when we will succeed,  together. You have elected a superb team of New Democrats to Parliament. They are going to be doing remarkable things in the years to  come to make this country better for us all.

To young Canadians: All my life I have worked to make things better. Hope and optimism have defined my political career, and I continue to be  hopeful and optimistic about Canada. Young people have been a great source of inspiration for me. I have met and talked with so many of you  about your dreams, your frustrations, and your ideas for change. More and more, you are engaging in politics because you want to change  things for the better. Many of you have placed your trust in our party. As my time in political life draws to a close I want to share with you my  belief in your power to change this country and this world. There are great challenges before you, from the overwhelming nature of climate change to the unfairness of an economy that excludes so many from our collective wealth, and the changes necessary to build a more inclusive and generous Canada. I believe in you. Your energy, your vision, your passion for justice are exactly what this country needs today. You need to be at the heart of our economy, our political life, and our plans for the present and the future.

And finally, to all Canadians: Canada is a great country, one of the hopes of the world. We can be a better one — a country of greaterequality, justice, and opportunity. We can build a prosperous economy and a society that shares its benefits more fairly. We can look after our seniors. We can offer better futures for our children. We can do our part to save the world’s environment. We can restore our good name in the world. We can do all of these things because we finally have a party system at the national level where there are real choices; where your vote matters; where working for change can actually bring about change. In the months and years to come, New Democrats will put a compelling new alternative to you. My colleagues in our party are an impressive, committed team. Give them a careful hearing; consider the alternatives; and consider that we can be a better, fairer, more equal country by working together. Don’t let them tell you it can’t be done.

My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.

All my very best,

Jack Layton

Courtesy: http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1043428

State funeral for Layton in Toronto on Saturday By Lesley Ciarula Taylor  Staff Reporter

As official Ottawa made plans Tuesday for a state funeral for Opposition Leader Jack Layton, his son found time to thank ordinary Canadians. “You amaze me Canada,” Mike Layton wrote on Twitter. “All the kind words, love and condolences are giving us strength through this very difficult time.” The New Democratic Party that Jack Layton led has opened an online book of condolences on its website, which more than 800 people had recommended in the 24 hours since his death. Layton died at 4:45 a.m. Monday at his home in Toronto from an as-yet unspecified cancer. In announcing the state funeral for Layton, the Office of the Prime Minister said, “Canadians will have an opportunity to salute Jack Layton’s contribution to public life.” The service was expected to be held Saturday at Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall after a lying-in- state in Ottawa.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper had offered the official service to Layton’s wife, MP Olivia Chow, and she accepted. By tradition, state funerals are reserved for current and former governors general, current and former prime ministers and current members of cabinet. State funerals in Canada are planned by the Department of Canadian Heritage working with the family. People are invited according to a Heritage Department Table of Precedence that includes foreign and Canadian dignitaries, also in consultation with the family.  The first state funeral in Canada was held for the Honourable Thomas D’Arcy McGee, a sitting MP and former cabinet minister, who was assassinated in April 1868. The state funerals of former governor general Ray Hnatyshyn in 2002 and former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau in 2000 in each lasted six days. The last state funeral in Canada was in 2009 for former governor general Romeo LeBlanc.

Flags in Ottawa, at City Hall in Toronto, at federal buildings in Toronto and other spots around the country have been lowered to half-staff and would remain there until after the funeral, officials said. The family has asked that people wishing to contribute send donations to the Broadbent Institute thinktank instead of sending flowers.

Courtesy: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1043470--state-funeral-for-layton-in-toronto-on-saturday