Revolution.

padaviya:

Last March was a particularly busy time for Jack Layton. Not only was he battling cancer and preparing the party for a potential election, he had also suffered a broken hip that required surgery.

In those hectic days, C-393, a New Democrat bill to improve Canada’s access to medicines regime was making its way to a long-awaited final vote in the House. The bill, first introduced by former NDP MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis, would support developing countries by providing more affordable medicines to those battling AIDS,

tuberculosis and malaria. Brian Masse had ably moved the bill forward at the committee stage. Against all procedural odds, Libby Davies had saved it from certain death upon Ms. Wasylycia-Leis’s retirement.

I had been entrusted with the final push for the bill in the House of Commons, but we were far from certain about the final outcome. On the day of the vote, Jack had just been released from hospital in Toronto. He rushed back to Ottawa to take his place in the House and vote in favour of C-393. He was visibly weakened by the surgery and struggled to stand up during the vote, but his exuberant smile betrayed the excitement at seeing this bill take another step forward. We won the vote with a large majority of MPs from all parties.

Jack’s determination that day spoke volumes about his leadership on foreign policy. During his years as Canada’s social democratic leader, Jack brought coherence to the principles that guide our approach to foreign affairs, he displayed clear foresight in opposition and he was simultaneously creative and practical with his propositions.

Jack Layton’s foreign policy was guided by a commitment to values of global cooperation to advance peace and justice. He was steeped in the tradition of activism within our party. He supported the United Nations as the best platform for cooperation and sought ways of improving its effectiveness. Jack was proud of the role Canada had historically played in the establishment of global institutions and believed in a foreign policy that projected the Canadian values of openness and engagement.

Canadians are familiar with Jack’s determination to make parliament work. He eschewed personal attacks and wedge politics at home. That approach extended to his thinking on global politics. This was particularly emphasized in his approach to the Middle East conflict, where he showed deep sensitivity to the nuances of the conflict and envisioned a Canadian role as an honest broker for peace.

In opposition, he benefited from the gift of foresight. He succeeded in convincing Canada to avoid the war on Iraq and the US missile defence shield program.

But Jack’s contribution to politics was never about mere opposition. He was in Ottawa to advance his propositions. In 2005 he was presented with a rare opportunity to rewrite a Liberal government budget. He cancelled billions of dollars in corporate tax cuts and invested the funds in priority areas including a major boost to Canada’s official development assistance.

In fact, Jack’s NDP is the only party in Canada that remains committed to former prime minister Lester Pearson’s aspiration of dedicating 0.7 per cent of our gross national income to development funding.

Afghanistan was the primary foreign affairs file during Jack’s leadership. One of his most courageous political propositions came in the summer of 2006 when he called for an end to the war in Afghanistan and recommended entering into negotiations for ceasefire and peace-building with the different warring factions in the country.

Today, his plan is accepted in capitals the world over as the only workable approach to the Afghan conflict. But in 2006 Jack faced a massive backlash from the conservative establishment in Ottawa. He was derided with accusations of naiveté at best and treason at worst. He was not deterred. He tasked MPs Dawn Black, Alexa McDonough, Jack Harris and me to fine-tune our proposals and communicate them widely and effectively.

The Conservatives did not take Jack’s advice on Afghanistan to the detriment of Canadian leadership for peace-building. They are making a much worse mistake by ignoring Jack’s proposals for climate change action.

Action on climate change was always the top foreign policy priority for Jack—and it was featured as such in our 2011 campaign platform. He was one of the first to recognize the real threat that climate change and environmental destruction pose to our collective peace and security. Three times he pushed forward legislative proposals for climate change action in parliament. First, through a legislative committee on a Conservative bill where the government refused to re-introduce the bill with NDP amendments. Jack’s bill on climate change accountability was twice adopted by elected parliamentarians and yet killed by Conservative-appointed Senators.

Jack had a deep appreciation for issues impacting global peace and security. He was a tireless advocate for nuclear non-proliferation and envisioned women’s empowerment as another focus for a social democratic Canadian foreign policy. He believed that when women have access to education, work and power, communities thrive, wealth is more fairly distributed and rights are better protected.

He saw women’s public engagement, along with economic fairness and the promotion of rights and democracy as the most effective way of stemming the spread of extremism. Jack was a founder of the White Ribbon Campaign which reached out to men to end violence against women. He always encouraged my focus on the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He never let the enormity of violence in that conflict discourage us from taking action on stemming the trade of conflict minerals and promoting women’s role in peace-building.

We have lost, as Canadians and as social democrats globally, a man from a rare breed of political leaders who truly believed in the concept of the human family. He saw the suffering of a human being anywhere in the world as an equally important political problem. He understood the global nature of the threats against our collective existence and looked to global cooperation to address the immense challenges before us.

I write this piece with a heavy heart. Not only have I lost a mentor and a leader, but also a friend who trusted our ability to build a world where we take better care of each other. I believe his contributions to foreign policy during his lifetime will seem modest compared to the positive change he will inspire in generations of Canadian leaders to come.

In his final words to us, Jack spoke of his desire to see Canada’s place in the world restored. New Democrats will rise to that challenge. We will miss Jack’s smile but his approach to politics will guide us on that path. For me, his determination on the day of the vote on C-393 will forever be a source of strength and inspiration.

Paul Dewar is the NDP Member of Parliament for Ottawa Centre and the Foreign Affairs critic for his party.

whatevershewalkedupon:

Rev. Brent Hawkes

“Normally, it’s Christmas Eve, and the Metropolitan Community Church occupies this space. Normally, I look up there in the balcony and Jack and Olivia are sitting there. Normally, I greet them outside in the hall with their Santa Claus hats on.

People have said to me, ‘How do…