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Media Center
At the Toronto & York Region Labour Council -- Media Centre you'll find: our latest Communiqués (Advisories & Releases); sample articles
that can be used as backgrounders or by local and community papers; selected media coverage on the issues we work on; our newsletter/e-bulletin
"Labour Action"; our press kit and so much more.
Please check back regularly to see what's new. For media inquiries, please contact:
Preethy Sivakumar at 416.937.9378 psivakumar@labourcouncil.ca Follow us: 
Jack Layton's final letter to all Canadians, dated Aug. 20, 2011. Saturday, two days before he died. Dear Friends, Tens of thousands of Canadians have written to me in recent weeks to wish me well. I want to thank each and every one of you for your thoughtful, inspiring and often beautiful notes, cards and gifts. Your spirit and love have lit up my home, my spirit, and my determination. Unfortunately my treatment has not worked out as I hoped. So I am giving this letter to my partner Olivia to share with you in the circumstance in which I cannot continue. I recommend that Hull-Aylmer MP Nycole Turmel continue her work as our interim leader until a permanent successor is elected. I recommend the party hold a leadership vote as early as possible in the New Year, on approximately the same timelines as in 2003, so that our new leader has ample time to reconsolidate our team, renew our party and our program, and move forward towards the next election. A few additional thoughts: To other Canadians who are on journeys to defeat cancer and to live their lives, I say this: 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. To the members of my party: we've done remarkable things together in the past eight years. It has been a privilege to lead the New Democratic Party and I am most grateful for your confidence, your support, and the endless hours of volunteer commitment you have devoted to our cause. There will be those who will try to persuade you to give up our cause. But that cause is much bigger than any one leader. Answer them by recommitting with energy and determination to our work. Remember our proud history of social justice, universal health care, public pensions and making sure no one is left behind. Let's continue to move forward. Let's demonstrate in everything we do in the four years before us that we are ready to serve our beloved Canada as its next government. To the members of our parliamentary caucus: I have been privileged to work with each and every one of you. Our caucus meetings were always the highlight of my week. It has been my role to ask a great deal from you. And now I am going to do so again. Canadians will be closely watching you in the months to come. Colleagues, I know you will make the tens of thousands of members of our party proud of you by demonstrating the same seamless teamwork and solidarity that has earned us the confidence of millions of Canadians in the recent election. To my fellow Quebecers: On May 2nd, you made an historic decision. You decided that the way to replace Canada's Conservative federal government with something better was by working together in partnership with progressive-minded Canadians across the country. You made the right decision then; it is still the right decision today; and it will be the right decision right through to the next election, when we will succeed, together. You have elected a superb team of New Democrats to Parliament. They are going to be doing remarkable things in the years to come to make this country better for us all. To young Canadians: 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. And finally, to all Canadians: 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 build a prosperous economy and a society that shares its benefits more fairly. We can look after our seniors. We can offer better futures for our children. We can do our part to save the world's environment. We can restore our good name in the world. We can do all of these things because we finally have a party system at the national level where there are real choices; where your vote matters; where working for change can actually bring about change. In the months and years to come, New Democrats will put a compelling new alternative to you. My colleagues in our party are an impressive, committed team. Give them a careful hearing; consider the alternatives; and consider that we can be a better, fairer, more equal country by working together. Don't let them tell you it can't be done. 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 Jack Layton – A man of passion and courage We mourn the passing of NDP Leader Jack Layton, whose passion for justice and courage battling cancer inspired all Canadians. His death comes only a few short months after leading the New Democratic Party to a historic victory as official opposition in Parliament, including the dynamic breakthrough for the NDP in Quebec. His personal charisma and determination helped win over two million new votes for the party he so ably led. Jack's legacy includes many years of visionary work on the environment and powerful advocacy for the unique role of cities in Canada's future. As a teacher, City Councillor, and president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, he constantly strived to create solutions for the key challenges of the day. His work on forcing attention to the tragedy of homelessness was just one example of his wisdom and compassion. Jack Layton was also fiercely loyal to working people and their struggles. From challenging trespass laws on behalf of union picketers in the 1980s, to leading the lengthy filibuster against unjust legislation hitting postal workers this summer, Jack was everywhere to be found supporting the cause of workers across this country. On behalf of the Executive, Staff and members of the Toronto & York Region Labour Council, we offer our sincere condolences to his family, friends and colleagues. He will be well missed. GOOD JOBS AREN'T IN THE PLAN Op-ED by John Cartwright, Toronto Star, June 18th. The CEOs have decided. The value of young people is lower than the value of people from my generation. You don't deserve the same salary, even if you are better educated. You don't deserve the same vacation time or health benefits. And you certainly don't deserve to have the same kind of secure retirement. It's just not in the business plan. If you haven't seen the official notification of this decision, you probably need to look in the business pages of your local newspaper... It is most openly referred to in the steady stream of articles about companies closing the door to new hires being enrolled in the standard pension plan. Instead, they get to participate in a "defined contribution plan" - a glorified group savings scheme subject to the whims of the stock market. Sometimes the notice is right there in the headlines, except most people don't recognize it. Like when the postal workers take strike action to oppose two-tier wages that will drop wages for new hires by $6 per hour. That's the Canada Post CEO saying the next generation of workers deserves less for the work they do, and of course shouldn't get a secure pension either. It's the same story in most labour disputes these days. The headlines paint a picture of intransigent workers who won't wake up to the new realities and give concessions. But the reality is that workers are very clear about what those concessions mean - that their work is being devalued. The contrast between demanding working people accept less and rewarding obscene bonuses to CEOs and top managers is a stark example of the hypocrisy involved in the current "new reality." To read full article, click www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/1010423 THE RETURN OF SLASH AND BURN Conservative Mayor Rob Ford is driving full speed ahead with his agenda of cutting services and jobs in the City of Toronto. In the classic strategy of creating a financial crisis, Ford has drained all the city reserves, used up a surplus worth $275-million, and slashed city revenues. Now his team is proposing a slew of outrageous options -- wipe out thousands of childcare spaces, sell off senior's homes, cut back on snow removal, take fluoride out of the water... the list is so outrageous that it overwhelms. PDF To read and download Labour council's newsletter, click on the link below • NEWSLETTERS - Labour Action Good jobs aren't in the plan June 18, 2011 TORONTO - The CEOs have decided. The value of young people is lower than the value of people from my generation. You don't deserve the same salary, even if you are better educated. You don't deserve the same vacation time or health benefits. And you certainly don't deserve to have the same kind of secure retirement. It's just not in the business plan. To read the full article go here. Skewed Toronto Review Process to Set the Stage for Privatization May 25, 2011 TORONTO - Despite Mayor Ford's campaign assurances that "services will not be cut...guaranteed," the Toronto Service Review seems to be heading precisely in that direction. The rushed public consultation process seems to be setting the stage for cutting or privatizing city services to address the budget gap in 2012. The first of eight City-run "discussion sessions" was held yesterday at North York. To read the full release go here OUTSOURCING SHAFTS WORKERS The battle cry from Bay Street and the Mayor's Office calls for a full-scale outsourcing of all kinds of work at the city of Toronto Recently our neighbours south of the border celebrated Martin Luther King Day. THe renowned civil rights leader wsa assassinated in 1968 in Memphis, where he had gone to support striking sanitation workers. To read the more click outsourcing shafts workers By John Cartwright, published in the Toronto Sun .
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