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Final farewell begins for Layton
Final farewell begins for Layton
NDP leader's body to lie-in-state today
News1130 Staff/Canadian Press Aug 24, 2011 08:02:41 AM
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TORONTO (NEWS1130) - The body of NDP leader Jack Layton has arrived on Parliament Hill to lie in state. A grieving Olivia Chow accompanied her husband's casket as it was greeted by a piper skirling a lament.
New Democrat MPs and staff shared tearful hugs as the coffin arrived at the Peace Tower. A military honour guard in red tunics and bearskin hats stood by.
Several hundred people watched quietly as the cortege wheeled slowly up to the Centre Block of the Parliament Buildings, where Layton is to lie in state for two days. The first hours of the ceremony were reserved for family, colleagues and dignitaries, including Gov. Gen. David Johnston.
The hearse carrying his casket, which was draped in a Canadian flag, left Rosa Morrison Funeral Home in Toronto at around 4 a.m. EST..
A state funeral will be held on Saturday at 2 p.m. EST. The casket will make the kilometre-procession from City Hall to Roy Thomson Hall with a mounted patrol. The exact route has not been released at this time.
The service is expected to last about an hour. Former NDP leader Ed Broadbent has been announced as one of the pallbearers. Rev. Brent Hawkes with the Metropolitan Church will be presiding.
After the funeral, Layton's family will spend an hour at the reception and then drive to a private internment at an unknown location in Toronto. Layton will be cremated.
The NDP says, in classic Layton style, there will be unique elements to his funeral, the details of which will be released at a later date.
Some NDP MPs are going through extraordinary measures to get to Parliament Hill. Chris Charlton is coming in from Germany and Nikki Ashton is cutting her honeymoon short to fly in from Greece.
State Funeral
A state funeral is traditionally offered only to current and former governors general, current and former prime ministers and current members of cabinet; however, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the PM offered Layton's wife MP Olivia Chow the option of the state funeral and she accepted.
On Monday evening, Harper confirmed the state funeral through Twitter and added that "Canadians will have an opportunity to salute Jack Layton's contribution to public life."
The Layton family has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the recently-announced Broadbent Institute, a left-leaning think-tank. Donations can be made online by clicking here. |
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發表於 2011-8-24 07:12
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