A Commentary by Doug Draper
Something surprising happened during this past spring’s Canadian election. For the first time in a long time, more young people seemed to be involved.
Flowers and other tributes continue piling up in front of Jack Layton's Toronto constituency office.
We often hear or read news stories about young people in Canada and the United States being so turned off with politics that they don’t vote. In recent years, people under the age of 25 have had an even more pathetic record when it comes to voting than the rest of us older types do. And yet, it is there future that is mostly at stake when it comes to choosing leaders that will make vital decisions about education, environmental protection and a host of other issues.
In this past federal election in Canada, I thought I saw a growing number of young people showing an interest by going to all-candidate meetings and staging ‘get-out-and-vote’ rallies, and I also got the impression that Jack Layton had more than a little to do with it. The federal New Democratic Party leader’s charisma and his message for a better future appeared to resonate with younger people who he went out of his way to speak to in his farewell letter to Canadians, written a few days before he died from cancer this past Monday, August 22.
“To young Canadians,” he wrote in that letter, “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.”
If more young Canadians take those final words from Layton to heart and become more involved in the kind of politics that builds ‘a more generous and inclusive Canada’, that could be his greatest legacy
For our readers information, the Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls, Ontario and New York will be illuminated in orange this Saturday, August 27 three times – for 15 minutes each time at 9 p.m., 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. – in honour of Jack Layton. The Niagara Parks Commission has arranged this following numerous requests from Canadians inside and outside the Niagara region.
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Niagara At Large 