Mr. Speaker, the sport of curling is enjoyed by approximately 800,000 Canadians and one-third of these Canadians are women.
I am very proud to announce that this weekend the Manitoba Women's Scott Tournament of Hearts will be played in my home town of Verdun, Manitoba. Of the 16 teams registered 7 of the competing skips are former Manitoba provincial women's champions and among them they hold 16 provincial, 3 Canadian and 3 world titles.
There is no reason to doubt that this year's lead up competitions to the Canadian crown and to the world cup championships could be one of the finest ever.
I wish all 16 participating teams good luck and to the Verdun organizing committee a full house.