Dear fellow New Democrats,

A value I instilled in Jack from an early age was to build his life on core principles, and his friendships on a shared commitment to justice. These are the family values Jack used to build a party, a caucus, and a winning team. Our party, our Official Opposition, is in some ways the house that Jack built, with our help, based on those shared values.

Always with an eye to social justice and improving Canada, Jack continually expanded that house, building each addition on the foundation of the last. From a caucus of 13, to 29 to 37 to 102, each victory was built on the last -- convincing more Canadians of our principles through an ever-clearer message.

It was the socially conscious- and environmentally-sound venture capital re-investment fund that really sealed the deal for me. I had already been on the Brian Topp bandwagon for a while, but this clinched it.

Any politician that has the guts to come out against pipelines, against tankers, and against carbon addiction gets a solid grade in my book. More importantly, I'm impressed by any politician who would be vocal in their support for sustainable re-investment, environmental reparations, and moving towards a national energy strategy that focuses on value-added jobs. These were things I was demanding that someone talk about months ago.