Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, the 17th Winter Olympic Games will open in Lillehammer. For two weeks Canadians and Quebecers will be glued to their television set to watch our athletes perform.
Everybody will live on Olympic time and many of us will become night owls to see our athletes compete. Right now, we wish to tell them this: "Every one of you has already won". Your courage, your determination and your talent command our respect and our admiration.
I hope that each and every one of you will be lucky enough to step onto the podium. I say "lucky" because that is what it takes to win gold, silver or bronze given the high level reached by athletes in the world today.
To all Quebec athletes, I wish victory and a Lys d'or , which symbolizes a job well done and an objective met.