Jack Layton Contributed to a Healthier Canada

It is with true sadness that the BC Alliance for Healthy Living says ‘good-bye’ to Jack Layton.

It has been said many times in the last two days, that no matter your political stripe no one could deny Jack’s exuberance for, and dedication to making Canada a better place for all.

Throughout his political life, he was a champion for healthy living and worked hard to create health-promoting conditions and communities

• Layton brought in Toronto’s first anti-smoking bylaw in mid-80s as the chair of Toronto’s board of health;
• As a Toronto City Councilor he worked to address homelessness and create more affordable housing in the city, and he brought this issue to the national stage as he moved into federal politics;
• Layton was an avid cyclist and as President Chair of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities in 2001, he laid the foundation for what would become the Green Municipal Fund providing local governments with much needed infrastructure funding (including transit systems and cycling facilities).

Above all, Jack was dedicated to making things better for the most disadvantaged and marginalized people in our society – he wanted to make Canada a more equitable and healthier place for everyone.

His letter to the Canadian public included a special message to those “on journeys to defeat cancer and to live their lives.”

“…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.”

And to us all he reminds that, “…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.”

Thank you Jack, for the changes you made – you will be missed.

BC Alliance for Healthy Living
August 2011