Inside Politics

NDP leader bent out of shape

Jack Layton is marking his seventh anniversary as NDP leader resting at home, nursing a sore back.

Layton was due to deliver a speech to the party's federal council this morning in Ottawa but was is in no shape to travel from his home in Toronto.

The New Democrat leader injured himself Friday while lifting weights at the gym.

A spokesman says Layton was determined to give his speech today and even investigated the possibility of speaking by video or telephone. It didn't work out though. Understudy Peter Julian, an NDP MP from British Columbia, will step up to the plate in Layton's stead.