NDP Leader Jack Layton to make surprise announcement

[Nikolay]

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1030194--jack-layton-calls-2-p-m-press-conference-ndp-won-t-say-why


Jack Layton calls 2 p.m. press conference; NDP won’t say why

OTTAWA—New Democrat Leader Jack Layton will make an announcement in Toronto Monday afternoon.

A news release sent to the media provided no further details about the announcement, which will take place at the Hilton Downtown Hotel at 2 p.m.

A party spokesman would not comment on the topic of the announcement.

The 61-year-old official leader of the opposition has been battling prostate cancer since February 2010, when he made the surprise announcement that he would fight the same disease his late father also battled.

Layton underwent hip surgery following an unexplained fracture shortly before the spring election, when he often raised the cane he used to help him walk in a victorious salute to the growing crowds.

Layton led the NDP to a historic breakthrough in the May 2 election, when the party formed the official opposition for the first time in its half-century of existence with 103 seats.

The majority of those seats are from Quebec and the NDP will hold its caucus retreat in Quebec City from Sept. 13 to 14.

I hope he doesn't resign as NDP Leader because of his health, the man is a great leader.. with some minor faults, and a lot of Canadians like him. If he does resign, then I wish him all the best in his recovery and retirement. :(

[miltonwasfried...man]

Wow. That's too bad, he has done a lot for the NDP and seems to be a good man all in all. Hopefully he gets better soon and can resume leadership.

[danyboy27]

that sad for the guy.

[agnixie]

Hopefully it's not "we remove socialism from our party constitution."

[jake williams]

That's too bad, he has done a lot for the NDP
Yeah, moving it waaay to the right and taking a bunch of slimy opportunistic positions to score seats and business cash.

Obviously it sucks for his family and whatnot, and it sucks for the party too if Mulcair ends up on the throne, though for now he hasn't, so that's something.

[Raightning]

He's stepping down temporarily because of the cancer. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14286244)

[The Intransigent Faction]

While his politics aren't something to be admired, nor those of his party regardless of the interim leader, on a personal level he deserves compassion and I wish him a full recovery. As for who that interim leader will be though, he's "suggested" some lady named Nycole Turmel, whom I know nothing about.

[agnixie]

While his politics aren't something to be admired, nor those of his party regardless of the interim leader, on a personal level he deserves compassion and I wish him a full recovery. As for who that interim leader will be though, he's "suggested" some lady named Nycole Turmel, whom I know nothing about.

Before electoral politics, she was head of the Public Service Alliance union. Otherwise I have no idea how she was as an union rep. She apparently got her Hull seat with 60% of the vote O.o

[Tabarnack]

From Wikipedia...:unsure:

Nycole Turmel (born 1943) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. She represents the electoral district of Hull—Aylmer as a member of the New Democratic Party. She has been nominated to be interim leader of the NDP during Jack Layton's illness, pending ratification by the NDP caucus.

Turmel worked in a Canada Employment Centre in Alma, Quebec, before getting involved with the union movement in 1979. She served as vice president of the Canadian Employment and Immigration Union in the late 1980s. Turmel was the first woman president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, serving as president from 2000 to 2006. The Ottawa Citizen reports that her term as PSAC President was marked by a major shift toward social activism for the union. After retiring from PSAC, Turmel served as vice president of the Ombudsman's office of the City of Gatineau from 2007 to 2011. She also sat on the board of affordable housing agencies in the Outaouais and represented workers on the Management Committee of Financial Assets of the QFL Solidarity Fund.

Before running for the NDP, Turmel had supported the Bloc Québécois and Québec solidaire. In November 2009, Turmel ran in the Gatineau municipal election in the district of Plateau-Manoir-des-Trembles. She lost to Maxime Tremblay.

The 2011 federal election was Turmel's first time running for the NDP. Turmel represents the electoral district of Hull—Aylmer as a member of the New Democratic Party. She defeated long standing Liberal incumbent Marcel Proulx. Upon her election in 2011, she was the first non-Liberal to win the area in 120 years. She picked up key endorsements during the campaign, including from the Ottawa Citizen newspaper.

After the election, Turmel was elected president of the NDP’s national caucus and appointed as the critic for Public Works and Government Services Canada. She began sitting on the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates on June 2, 2011. On July 25, 2011, NDP leader Jack Layton announced a temporary leave of absence for health reasons, and recommended that Turmel be appointed interim leader.