The lying in state for NDP leader Jack Layton has begun on Parliament Hill – the first time an opposition leader has been so honoured.
The honours will last until Saturday and include a lying in state, public visitations and a celebration of life, in both Ottawa and Toronto.
State funerals are a long tradition in Canada, with the first such funeral held for Thomas D’Arcy McGee in 1868.
“When there is a state funeral it’s because the state, the whole country wishes to honour that person and pay their respects,” said Paul LeBlanc, Senior Ceremonies Officer, for the Department of Canadian Heritage. He has worked on five state funerals, in roles at Canadian Heritage and the Department of National Defence.
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“All state funerals are not the same,” said LeBlanc. Events are planned according to the wishes of the deceased’s family. For a former Prime Minister or Governor General, said LeBlanc, a state funeral would likely include military guards of honour, RCMP escorts and the pallbearers would be members of the military for a governor general, or members of the RCMP for a prime minister.
The funeral would also likely include a portage and a lying in state on Parliament Hill. It’s left up to the deceased’s family to decide which events are to be open to the public. Typically, said LeBlanc, almost everything is public, except for the final burial or cremation at the cemetery.
While former or current prime ministers, governors general, and current ministers are automatically entitled to a state funeral, the prime minister can offer one to others, as Stephen Harper did for Jack Layton.
“It’s not unprecedented that the Prime Minister of Canada offers a state funeral to those that would not be entitled to it,” said LeBlanc. “Smokey Smith in 2005 was entitled to full military honours but the component of lying in state, the Prime Minister offered that to the family. Therefore we flew the remains from Vancouver to here and had a lying in state here in Ottawa.”
The Unknown Soldier also received a state funeral in 2001.
However, Layton’s funeral is unique in another way. Never before has someone who was solely leader of the Official Opposition died while in office, said LeBlanc. One other opposition leader, Wilfrid Laurier, did die in office, but as a former prime minister, he was automatically entitled to a state funeral.
Global Television will be broadcasting Jack Layton’s funeral beginning at 1 PM on Saturday, August 27. The event will also be streamed live on globalnews.ca.
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