Former federal NDP leader Audrey McLaughin was vacationing in Dawson City on Monday when she heard the news that current leader Jack Layton is temporarily stepping down to battle a new form of cancer.

"With everyone else in Canada, I'm hoping for Jack's speedy recovery,” she told the Star early this afternoon. "We never count him out.”

McLaughlin said she was amazed at how Layton performed during this year's election campaign, especially since he had recently undergone hip surgery.

"I had no health issues, and that job is still extremely tiring,” she said. "I was in amazement the whole time. I'm not saying that in a partisan way. He's always been like that. Always cheery. Jack has an amazing resilience.”

McLaughlin, who was the Yukon's MP between 1987 and 1997, said she was disappointed to hear the media's reaction to the news.

"It's disconcerting,” she said. "People are asking, ‘Is this the end of the NDP?' Of course it's not.

"The federal caucus and the federal party is a team, and they will carry out what Jack wants them to carry out. It makes everyone more committed,” she said.

McLaughlin said she is thrilled about Layton's choice for a temporary replacement in rookie Quebec MP Nycole Turmel.

"I've known her over the years and she's a long-time New Democrat. A lot of attention has been paid to the fact that's she's a rookie MP and yes, that's true. But she was also the head of a very large union,” she said. "She's very competent.

"She may not be known by the public, but she's very well-known within the party.”

McLaughlin said she has a great respect for Turmel. She said Turmel was a supporter of the NDP in a time when it was far less popular in Quebec.

"We didn't have great inroads in Quebec at the time, and she was always consistent.”

As far as filling Layton's shoes for the next few months, McLaughlin expressed faith in Turmel.

"You don't get to be the head of a major union in Canada without having some appeal,” she said.

Turmel was the first woman president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada. She currently represents the electoral district of Hull-Aylmer in west Quebec.

She defeated long-standing Liberal incumbent Marcel Proulx on May 2, becoming the first non-Liberal to win in the area in 120 years.

Though she supports Turmel and thinks she's a great choice for interim leader, McLaughlin was quick to repeat her hope that Layton will return to politics in time for Parliament to reconvene on Sept. 19.

"Like I said, we certainly do not count Jack out.”

See Yukon Liberal leader comments in story below...