NCCAR Open Letter commemorating the life of Jack Layton (1950-2011)

The National Council on Canada Arab Relations (NCCAR) would like to express its deepest sympathies and condolences for the loss of her Majesty’s Leader of the Official Opposition Jack Layton.

Throughout his career, Mr. Layton has always been principled, civil, passionate and hopeful that our future will be better than our past. In his final letter to Canadians, he highlighted the importance of working together to improve Canada’s reputation globally as the champion of progressive values: “Canada is a great country, one of the hopes of the world. We can be a better one – a country of greater equality, justice, and opportunity…We can restore our good name in the world.”

One of Mr. Layton’s most important attributes was his ability to transcend partisan lines and offer policy alternatives that are beneficial to all Canadians.  He applied the same principle when approaching topics related to the Middle East conflict and the Arab world. He strongly believed that the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians could be resolved by urging both sides on making tough compromises for the collective benefit of both peoples.

In addition, he strongly supported the democratic aspirations of the Arab people who risked their lives during the protests in the Middle East and North Africa region. We at the Council are grateful to have had his support for such causes over the past eight years since becoming leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP).

We extend our condolences to Mr. Layton’s wife Olivia Chow and his children Mike and Sarah and the entire NDP Caucus.

For more information, please contact:

Imad Al-Sukkari
Operations Adviser
imad.alsukkari@nccar.ca
www.nccar.ca
Telephone: 613-983-4623

About NCCAR: The National Council on Canada-Arab Relations (NCCAR) is a charitable organization whose mission is to build ties between Canadians and people of the Arab World in order to develop stronger relations and cooperation between them as well as an appreciation of their common values. NCCAR is a member-driven organization supported by Canadians of diverse backgrounds across Canada. www.nccar.ca Le Conseil national des relations canado-arabes (CNRCA) est un organisme caritatif dont la mission est de tisser des liens entre les Canadiens et les peuples du monde arabe pour créer des relations et une collaboration plus étroites entre eux, ainsi que pour mieux apprécier leurs valeurs communes. Le CNRCA est un organisme dirigé par ses membres et appuyé par des Canadiens de diverses origines dans l’ensemble du Canada.

Posted on August 24, 2011