- Bruce Hyer, MP Thunder Bay-Superior North

My number one concern has always been the riding of Brant.  It’s easy to see why.  We have so much going for us and yet we have major obstacles to still overcome.  While we can all appreciate what a wonderful place we live in we also know we must never stop improving.  That way lies stagnation.

There are many themes you hear regularly living in this community that folks feel need improvement.  The amount and quality of employment and prosperity is one theme.  The resolution of land rights and land claims is another and it ties into a larger theme of harmony and peace between the city, county and the reserve communities in our riding.  The rising cost of daily living and the effective use of public services including health care and education is another.  

These are just a sample amongst many of the challenges we face.  They are others of course and their importance depends on who you ask.  Every voter is unique and we all have different priorities but having knocked on more doors and been available at more community events than most it becomes apparent that these are the general themes we agree need creative solutions.

These themes and their importance to the people in this riding are the reasons I supported Romeo Saganash’s vision for the country and had joined his team so that he could be the next leader of the Official Opposition.  His experience creating win-win-win scenarios for communities, the economy and the environment appealed to me greatly.  He has arguably been directly involved with the creation of more jobs in the private sector than any other NDP Leadership Candidate.

When it comes to resolution of land claims and land rights no one on that slate of candidates had a better perspective or was better able to address the issue than Romeo.  His experience as a negotiator between First Nation Communities and Non-Native communities including industry were incredible.  His platform on this went beyond resolution and instead pushed for reconciliation.  A definite path to healing, peace and prosperity in a riding like ours.

And when it comes to the other themes for improvement prevalent in our community Romeo Saganash had incredibly well-thought out and intelligent arguments to make to take us forward in a more progressive way.

The bad news?  This week Romeo Saganash dropped out of the NDP leadership race.

The good news?  He’s still with us and if I know Romeo he will be working as hard as ever on these priorities.

As a member of the NDP Official Opposition and in my opinion a future Cabinet Minister Romeo Saganash will have many opportunities to help shape our country in a positive way.  The work he has done, especially in reaching out to the 40% of Canadians who feel marginalized and disenfranchised was incredible.  An example of this can be seen during his trip to Brant.  In his day here he spoke to more than 800 people at 7 events and recruited more new members in a single day then we have seen since I have been involved with the Brant NDP.

Having spent time on the campaign trail with Romeo a variety of times throughout Ontario in places like Brantford, Six Nations, Caledonia, Cambridge, Waterloo, Sudbury Ottawa and Toronto I learned so much from this thoughtful, caring and funny man and his entire team.

I’d like to thank Romeo for his friendship and mentorship. I look forward to working with him more in the coming years.  Thank you also for sharing your time and your story with us.  In a country that was inspired recently by the the idea that hope is better than fear you provide an amazing example of that kind of hope.  You make us believe that a boy who was born in a tent, who had been through all you had, could one day become the next Prime Minister of Canada.

What a beautiful vision of this country you have.  I know many who appreciate you giving so much of your time and energy to share that vision with us.   

Thank you.  Merci.  Mikwec.

____________________________________________________________________________________

I implore all my readers to read Romeo’s non-typical political platform “All Our Relations: Thoughts on Canadian Leadership” and to follow his past and future columns on the Huffington Post at http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/romeo-saganash

"It's unfortunate some Conservatives feel that our seniors, receiving $540 a month, are a burden. And that those same MP's consider $80 Billion of taxpayers money spent on planes that can't fly and prisons that won't work, money well spent," said John Rafferty the New Democratic Member of Parliament for Thunder Bay-Rainy River in direct response to McColeman’s comments.

Brant NDP representative and 2011 Federal Candidate Marc Laferriere says the local community is equally off put by the Harper Government’s threats to the Old Age Security system. “We’ve received more calls and correspondence on these threats to the Old Age Security system than any other issue since the May 2011 election,” he said.  “This was not mentioned in the platform they ran on less than a year ago and I’m receiving a lot of contact from residents who voted Conservative in the last election who are angry about this.  It’s important that our elected officials speak for our community which clearly is not in favour of any cuts to OAS.”

In his statement McColeman also said “We cannot afford to put our head in the sand and hope the challenge of financial sustainability will go away.”  These statements are in direct conflict with a study commissioned by the Harper government and led by Edward Whitehouse of the World Bank which stated that “Canada does not face major challenges of financial sustainability with its public pension schemes,” and that “there is no financial or fiscal need to increase pension ages in the foreseeable future.”

“It appears the Conservative Government has their head in the sand when it comes to their own research.  They are also willfully putting their head in the sand when it comes to the reality many seniors in our community face now and will face in the future,” said Laferriere.

McColeman’s statements in the House also drew comments from Hamilton East-Stoney Creek MP and the NDP’s critic on Pensions Wayne Marston.

“The Conservatives gave $16 billion in tax cuts to profitable corporations without receiving a single job guarantee. And now, facing a revenue shortfall, they expect Canadian seniors to pay the price,” said Marston.  “A better option for Canadians is to expand the CPP, as the NDP has long argued.  A modest increase in premiums can finance a doubling of CPP benefits for all Canadian workers. This would provide real, sustainable, retirement security for Canadians.”

For the full text of the original speech from the House of Commons please go to www.openparliament.ca

To learn more about the Old Age Security controversy visit http://www.ndp.ca/oas

Lately and prominently, from right-of-centre authors in these pages and others we have seen editorials with titles like "Envy Blinds the Left Wing Regarding The Realities of CEO Salaries."

At the same time in London, Ont., controversy brews because workers there won't take a 50% wage cut from a profitable company, with high paid CEOs that received millions in federal tax breaks.

In this scenario corporate interests says CEOs should get paid more than they do now, but that other hard working Canadians should be paid less.

How does anyone make sense of this hypocrisy?

The average working Canadian makes between $33,000 and 42,000 a year. Many make far less than that and the cost of living continues to rise - especially energy costs -so that working Canadians are finding it tougher to get by and get ahead.

At the same time, companies like Electro-Motive in London, have been given millions in tax cuts without any strings attached. The companies have benefited while the workers have not. Where has that money gone?

Many of these companies, like Electro- Motive, have increased the salaries of their CEOs, sat on the cash or worse yet have used it to fund moving their operations out of Canada.

We saw a similar and unfortunate result here in Brantford with the workers at ECP. We've seen similar issues across the country as the gap between the rich and other working people gets wider.

This isn't a left versus right issue as Greg Van Moorsel declared. Nor is it a business versus union argument.

I am not in a union and, in fact, I own a small business. I'm dealing with accounts receivable and payable everyday.

And every day small business owners like me have been seeing these breaks to CEO's and these large companies while smaller businesses are looking to grow, looking to hire and can't.

I'm just a small business owner, one who wants to hire Canadians and grow the economy.

The breaks for me and small business owners like me are few while companies like Electro-Motive and their CEOs receive millions in tax breaks.

An article in the Brant News recently named myself, along with Mayor Chris Friel and MPP and Speaker of the House Dave Levac as the Top Newsmakers of 2011.  The criteria were “the quality of the candidates and quantity of headlines they made” as well as the need for those headlines to “carry some importance.”

The Brant News article looked at the federal election campaign, community volunteer work and the creation of The Brant Advocate (a new community publication/small business venture) as the basis for their nomination.

For the purposes of this blog I’d like to just focus on the political work of the Federal Brant NDP.  It was a whirlwind year of activity, organizing and yes even tragedy.  Looking back on it though we see so many reasons to continue the work we do.  If you would like to help us continue onwards in our organizing efforts in 2012 and help us gear up for a win in 2015 please consider making a donation before midnight tonight to get up to 75% back on you 2011 taxes.

Normally we do a top 10 list at the end of the year but with so much happening in 2011 we had to create an expanded top 20 list.  Just click each story for more details.

Top 20 Federal Brant NDP stories of 2011 in chronological order:

1. MP Charlie Angus’ visits riding
2. Brant NDP Shines a Light to Fight HST
3. Brant NDP key to overturning CRTC ruling on Usage Based Billing
4. Brant NDP starts annual Brantford Youth Leadership Conference
5. Brant NDP proposes proactive fund to settle land claims
6. Laferriere only Candidate to unviel Job Creation Strategy
7. Laferriere nominated for JS Woodsworth Award
8. The 2011 Campaign Begins
9. Layton makes first policy announcement of the 2011 campaign in Brantford
10. Street Nurse Cathy Crowe comes to Brantford to campaign on issues of poverty and homelessness
11. Laferriere named one of the “most engaged” social media candidates in Canada by Global News.
12. Laferriere stands up for Seniors, holds McColeman to account on stimulus spending.
13. Obama’s Campaign Organizer endorses Laferriere and Brant NDP for new kind of politics.
14. Derek Blackburn returns for full day of campaigning
15. Andrea Horwath joins Brant NDP canvass team
16. Election results see largest growth of any local party.  Best result in 2 decades with strong 2nd place finish.  Laferriere vows to keep working.
17. NDP choice of local students.
18. Brant NDP mourns passing of Jack Layton with the community
19. Brant NDP Leadership Candidates Romeo Saganash and Paul Dewar Visit Brant and declare it one of the “next 60 seats” needed to form government in 2015.
20. Elections Canada reports Brant NDP does more with less and spent wisely on 2011 campaign. 

The last story on that list just came out so I’d like to go into a bit of detail there.  Elections Canada just released a report showing the Brant NDP spent a fraction of what the Conservatives and Liberals spent yet grew more than any other local party. 

Further we spent your money most wisely and had the most economically sound local campaign in last federal election.  We did not go into any debt and we spent $1.72 per vote, while the Conservatives spent $3.17, and Liberals a whopping $8.06. 

We also listened to voters and spent $0 dollars on those annoying phone polls. In fact the Conservatives and Liberals in Brant spent more on those surveys than we spent on the entire campaign. 

Looking at the statistics and the poll-by-poll breakdowns we see plenty of opportunity to win in 2015 but the work has to start today.  With more organization and support we will make a breakthrough in 2015.

If you can help in any way we would appreciate it.  You can donate to the local riding association conveniently and securely until midnight tonight and receive up to 75% back in just a few short weeks when you file your 2011 taxes.

Every dollar you donate to the Brant Electoral District Association goes directly to a local campaign and local work. Your donation will help us support riding events such as public talks, youth leadership events and barbecues, as well as plan and save for the next election. Donating is also easier on your pocketbook than you may think. For example, a donation of $100 actually costs you only $25:

Thank you so much for an incredible 2011 and for your continued support in 2012 and beyond as we work together for a more prosperous, fairer and more progressive riding.  A loving, hopeful and optimistic New Year to all.

BRANTFORD, ON – NDP leadership candidate Paul Dewar will campaign in Brantford on Wednesday, December 14th.  

Mr. Dewar is a former aid worker in Nicaragua, public school teacher, and teachers’ federation vice president.  In 2006 he was elected Member of Parliament for Ottawa-Centre, and in 2007 he was appointed Foreign Affairs critic under Jack Layton.

"I believe together we can build a stronger, more caring Canada," said Dewar. "I’m traveling the country to talk to families about the issues they care about and earn their support to form Canada’s next government.  Brant is a great example of a community where we can work together, engage residents and elect New Democrats so we can build a more progressive country.”

This will not be Dewar’s first time hearing from the people of Brant.  During the Harper Government’s unpopular prorogation of Parliament Dewar held meetings with Brant NDP Federal Candidate Marc Laferriere and Brant NDP Secretary Neil Macdonald regarding the recognition of foreign credentials, support for military families, and ways to engage youth.

“Paul’s and his team have always been a big help to us in the riding and we are happy to have Paul include Brantford in his leadership campaign tour,” said Brant NDP Secretary Neil Macdonald.  “Paul was actually my MP when I lived in Ottawa.  I know from first hand experience how smart, friendly and hard-working he is.  We hope as many people as possible join us Wednesday to talk about the country and the specific issues in our riding.” 

"I've heard a lot about Brant and I’m excited to hear more during the visit,” said Dewar.

Brant NDP Federal Candidate Marc Laferriere recently spoke with Mr. Dewar when they both presented at this year's Ontario New Democratic Youth Convention in Sudbury Ontario.  

"I asked Paul at that event if he would like to make a trip to Brant and he readily agreed," said Laferriere.  "It is great to see an interest in our riding during this leadership race.  It is a good sign for us as we look towards the 2015 federal election.  We want the people of Brant, no matter who they support for leader, to get involved and engaged.  A one member, one vote race for leader is very exciting because it allows people to really participate.  This is especially true when we have leadership candidates visit our ever-growing riding."

During his time in Brantford, Mr. Dewar will meet with community leaders and NDP party members and participate in a campaign meet and greet at The Piston Broke Pub in Harmony Square.

What: NDP leadership candidate Paul Dewar to campaign in Brantford

Where: The Piston Broke Pub, 93 Dalhousie St, Brantford, 7pm - 9pm.

Additional information is available at www.pauldewar.ca

Visit the event page on facebook by clicking here

Earlier this year, when Jack Layton passed away the community came together for a non-partisan vigil at the Brant NDP office on Murray St.  So many great people, from all walks of life and from all sides of the political spectrum from our community showed up that week to pay their respects.

That is where I first met Dave Sargent.  On that night Dave spoke to many of us and said that he’d like to run in this year’s Terry Fox Run in honour of Jack Layton.  Dave, a multi-year Terry Fox runner, has always dedicated his run to someone he was close.  That night, he told us at Brant NDP headquarters, it “just felt like the right thing to do.”

At last week’s event with MP Romeo Saganash Dave presented us with the t-shirt he wore on this year’s run.  It said simply “I dedicate this run to the Late Rht. Honourable Jack Layton 1950-2011.”  A very kind gesture.

Dave’s raised thousands of dollars for cancer research and opened the evening by telling his own story about being a 2-time cancer survivor and what his yearly participation with the Terry Fox Foundation means to him.

On behalf of everyone there that evening I’d just like to thank Dave Sargent for sharing his story, sharing his time and sharing with our community his efforts to make the world a little bit better for those battling cancer everyday.

To donate to Dave in the future go to:  http://bit.ly/t1Jh

NDP MP and Leadership Candidate Romeo Saganash will be visiting Brantford and Six Nations on Monday Nov 21st and will be holding public events including a Town Hall-style meeting at Woodland Cultural Centre’s Orientation Room beginning at 6:30pm. 

The day promises to be quite productive as Saganash accompanied by recent Brant Federal Candidate Marc Laferriere will be meeting with city officials, and later with members of Six Nations Elected Council.  Also MP Saganash will be spending some time off of the campaign trail to share his inspirational story with youngsters at Princess Elizabeth School in Eagle Place and Hagersville Secondary School in the riding of Haldimand-Norfolk.

The new leader will be elected at a leadership convention in Toronto on March 24, 2012 and will be chosen via a one-member, one-vote model. For those interested in voting in the NDP leadership race membership kits will be available at the Woodland Cultural Centre event and online by clicking here.

Marc Laferriere the 2011 Federal NDP Candidate for Brant announced today his support for NDP Leadership Candidate Romeo Saganash.  The announcement was made as the two were visiting youth at the Ontario New Democratic Youth Convention in Sudbury, On.

Under Laferriere’s candidacy the Brant NDP won the 2010 leader’s challenge for signing up the most new party members and was named most-improved riding by former NDP Leader Jack Layton.   Laferriere was cited by a Global News/Politwitter.ca study as “the most engaged” New Democrat on social media in the 2011 race.  Laferriere, a social worker, was also nominated for a J.S Woodsworth Award in 2011 for anti-racist community development work done in Brantford, Six Nations and Thunder Bay.  

“I believe in the NDP as a unifying force in Canadian politics.  I believe in the grassroots and I believe New Democrats can become government and deliver on the promise of a new kind of politics for all of Canada.  I know that Romeo Saganash shares that vision.  He’s a man of action who can get the job done,” Laferriere said.  “Today I am not just announcing my endorsement of Romeo but I will also be backing up that endorsement with diligent work as an active member of his leadership campaign team.”

”I am very grateful for the support of a terrific organizer like Marc Laferriere. He is the kind of candidate - and Brant the kind of riding - that is an example of how the NDP will win the next 60 seats and form government in the next election,” said Saganash who will be the first leadership candidate to visit Brant Riding.

Saganash will be visiting Brantford and Six Nations on Monday Nov 21st and will be holding public events including a Town Hall-style meeting at Woodland Cultural Centre’s Orientation Room beginning at 6:30pm. 

Roméo Saganash is the MP for Abitibi-Baie-James-Nunavik-Eeyou.   He is a residential school survivor and was the first Cree to obtain a law degree in Quebec; he was a Deputy Grand Chief of the Grand Council of Crees in Québec as well as the vice-chair of the Cree Regional Authority. Romeo played a key role in the negotiations that led to the signing of the Paix des Braves agreement between the Government of Quebec and the Grand Council of the Crees and helped negotiate the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The new leader will be elected at a leadership convention in Toronto on March 24, 2012 and will be chosen via a one-member, one-vote model.  

For more on Romeo Saganash please visit: www.Saganash.ca

For information on how to meet Romeo Saganash when he visits Brant check out our Free "Town Hall For All" Facebook Event Page.

Former Federal Brant NDP Candidate Marc Laferriere will be in Sudbury this weekend presenting to politically motivated youth from across the province at the Ontario New Democratic Youth Convention.  

“There are so many youth that have become politically active in the last few years and helping them to organize, to learn how to use different models to engage their communities is something I’m very passionate about,” said Laferriere.  “I ran on the idea of a new kind of politics, using community engagement instead of the traditional advertising style campaign.  It’s a pleasure to share what we have learned.”

Since the May 2011 election Laferriere has been volunteering his time to speak to riding associations, not-for-profits, youth groups, service clubs and to several new political candidates about how to use grass roots engagement models and social media in communities.

In the 2011 Federal Election he was named one of Canada’s 10 most engaged candidates on social media by a Global News/Politwitter.ca study.

“There are so many ways to communicate, traditionally and through social media that can get us away from the ‘big money’ approach to politics.  They aren’t always easy to navigate though.  I’m looking forward to taking some of the lessons we learned in Brant to these young organizers.”

Laferriere also says he will be making an announcement about the Federal Leadership Race at the convention.

“No, I’m not running,” said the 30 year-old Laferriere. “I’ve been asked by many within the riding and outside of it to consider a run for leadership.  That kind of support leaves me both humbled and flattered.  While I am looking forward to being an active part of the leadership race, simply put, my heart is in Brant.”

To find out more about the 2011 ONDY Convention visit their Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=118318808272339

A photo from the 2010 Ontario New Democratic Youth Convention.

JACK LAYTON, 1950-2011

Canadians lost their most trusted ally and representative with the sad passing of our Federal Opposition Leader, Jack Layton.  Jack was a leader, a mentor and someone I admired.  He was an advocate for Brant, dating back as far as his time as the head of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and as recently as this past Federal Election, where he chose a family home in Brantford as the site of the first policy announcement in what would turn out to be a historic campaign.

Over the last week we've held a 3 day vigil for Jack in Brantford.  It has been amazing to see so many people come in and share their stories of Jack as they leave messages in a book of condolence for his loved ones.  Children have been writing on a stuffed bear we will present to his grand daughter Beatrice.  Jack beamed every time he mentioned her.  

Teens have been writing messages in chalk on the pavement outside our office as our all-volunteer crew have stayed for 12 hours a day to provide extended hours for the community to come in.

Brant News TV Reports on The Brant NDP Vigil For Jack.

This morning I head to the state funeral for our leader being held in Toronto.  I wanted some time alone with my thoughts before the celebration of Jack's life.  Before the hustle and bustle of what we all excpect to be a massive gathering - I wanted to reminisce.  I find myself at a keyboard.  It feels right to get these thoughts down.  I've read every tribute left to Jack in our book of condolence.  It feels right to pen my own.  

A small tribute to a man whose ability to inspire was was large:

I first met Jack in 2004 when I worked in the media.  My interview with him at that time was what began my journey as a New Democrat.  No small feat considering my previous votes for Liberal and Reform candidates.  But Jack won me over with his much talked about smile and personality, but also with his ideas and values. 

It was a student screening of Dr. Strangelove where afterwards he spoke about the de-weaponization of space. On that day in 2004, Jack stayed to have one-on-one time with the young people who had questions.  He also spent more time with the student journalists, not because he needed to, but because they needed more time to formulate the right questions then did their counterparts from CBC and CTV.  That patience and care would serve him (and New Democrats) well. 

I'd met many politicians, but he was the only one I'd seen at that point who insisted on carrying his own bags and staying late at events.  Years later as a candidate, I saw how Jack's own low key and low maintenance demeanor behind the scenes, translated to other New Democrat MP's who visited our riding, putting in long hours with the same eagerness and accessibility.

As a candidate, Jack wasn’t a stranger. He went above and beyond, offering personal training, advice, phone calls and e-mails. He was not a distant leader living in a far away tower and that was part of his appeal.  I often bump into people in Brantford, Brant County and Six Nations who knew him well and considered him a friend and an ally. 

He loved people and that love is now being reciprocated.

Jack - the happy warrior - was also a fighter.

In 2009 I was at a training session with Jack, and he had commented about a video he had seen weeks before from the Brant News of my then recent nomination meeting.  He made a comment about how packed the nomination meeting seemed.  When I told him that it was full despite an event with popular Liberal MP Justin Trudeau that was occurring in Brantford at the exact same time he winked at me, put his arm around me and said he'd work with me to "bring Brant back."

He was a man of his word.  The next month, despite a diagnosis of prostate cancer that he had not yet gone public with, he held to his commitment and attended our 90 cent dinner event.  He stayed for two shifts; he spoke to everyone and took extra time with youth, seniors and particularily those who came to the event from other political parties and attempted to cajole him.  He told those people - they could have his time and have his ear.  Some of them are now active, card carrying New Democrats.  Winning people over by putting time in with a listening ear was another of Jack's traits. 

Politicians can learn a lot from Jack's willingness to engage with the "other side."  To propose instead of simply oppose and to see anyone you engage with as an opportunity for change instead of something to avoid.

When he got to the event, he stood in line with everyone else.  When a volunteer asked him to skip to the front, he politely declined and instead asked that someone find me so I could join him in line.  I'll never forget that.  It struck me as the core of the man.  Jack was someone who enjoyed being with people.

Again he came to Brant for our Pay What You Can Picnic.  When we had to reschedule the event due to the G20 debacle that had Toronto practically locked down, he was as accommodating as ever, offering exclusive interviews via phone to the local press.  No scripted questions and responses.  No vetting of reporters.  He'd talk about whatever they asked.

When we were able to have the event it was really wonderful.  Traffic was really bad coming in from Toronto and Jack was late.  I was doing interviews with reporters when my personal phone rang.  One of the reporters joked it "must be Jack."

To my own astonishment that's exactly who it was.

Jack called from the car to let me know how horrendous traffic had been.  He then asked if there were any seniors due to the heat or reporters due to scheduling conflicts that had to get going.  If there was, he wanted to make sure they didn't leave disappointed and let me know he'd be happy to chat with them on the phone as he made his way to Brantford.  I passed the phone around and watched as people smiled and eagerly asked him questions.

Again, Jack's love for people was apparent and at his core. 

That day was also special because it was the first time Jack and former Brant MP Derek Blackburn had met.  It was a privilege to sit in on that conversation as they both shared stories about Jack's father whom Derek had served with in Parliament.

There are many other times that I hold close to my heart that I consider special moments: surprising him on stage at the Anti-UBB rally in Toronto where he and Peggy Nash insisted I speak despite being the only non-Toronto candidate there.  The time in Hamilton someone from his Toronto-Danforth riding was desperate to talk to him and Jack insisted on doing so despite it not being part of his very tight schedule.  Jack inviting me into that conversation because he valued the input of a social worker in the man's situation.  Spending time with him at Provincial Council meetings behind closed doors.  His encouragement when we won the National Membership Challenge.  The amazing things he had to say to the national press about our local campaign when they asked him to defend a stop in Brantford over other "higher priority ridings."   A very personal e-mail exchange we had about leadership and work ethic that I'll cherish forever. It's somthing that will inspire me to keep working on the positive changes he proposed.

The funny thing about Jack though, is that there are thousands of people across this country who can probably write similar stories of Jack being accessible, personal and helpful. At the Wednesday evening portion of the vigil with so many in attendence I asked "How many people here have actually met Jack."  I was not surptised when the vast majority raised their hands.

It was at his core.  He loved people and he worked for them.

Now we show our love and we work towards his vision of a better country.  It’s a beautiful vision.

The day Jack died I said in the Expositor ‎"Today we grieve, but tomorrow we get to work on the country he dreamed of."

The "tomorrow" I referred to is now today. A today where we get to the work of building.  A today where everyone steps up to achieve what he wanted.

With ideas, with inspiration and with the three pieces Jack advocated for right to the end: love, hope and optimism, I believe we'll rise to the challenge of his final request.

Just like he asked us to, we'll change the world.

"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"