Debates of April 27th, 1994

National Sport Act

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Acting Speaker (Mr. Kilger)]

The House has heard the terms of the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Acting Speaker (Mr. Kilger)]

The motion is adopted.

(Motion agreed to.)

[Antoine Dubé, Bloc, Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, since I was prepared to speak to the motion dealing with hockey, I will speak only about hockey, which does not mean that I oppose the amendment.

I would first like to congratulate the hon. member for Kamloops for his determination in wanting to have hockey recognized as the national sport since, according to our research, this is at least his third attempt to do so. Moreover, I learned from my own research that this is at least the tenth time that someone in this House tried to have hockey recognized as the national sport.

Let me say straightaway that we are in favour of recognizing hockey as the national sport, but for another reason than the one raised by the hon. member for Kamloops. The hon. member for Kamloops said that one of the reasons why he presented this bill is that it may contribute to national unity.

I do not intend to embark on a partisan debate today, because the reason for a national sport is to foster harmony, but I would like to indicate to the hon. member for Kamloops that our perspective may be different from his. Nothing prevents two countries from sharing the same national sport. Quebecers also love hockey. We will have to wait for a referendum, but Quebec will likely be a sovereign state in a couple of years, and it will want to keep excellent relations with English-speaking Canada. Sports foster good relations. For reasons that have nothing to do with those of the hon. member for Kamloops, we agree that hockey should become a national sport.

If there is a sport that can arouse interest here, that sport is hockey. Playoffs under way in the National Hockey League are on the mind of many people. The first item on the Téléjournal on April 20 was the health problems of the Canadiens' goalie Patrick Roy, and not the war in Bosnia or bloodshed in Rwanda.

Many people may condemn that editorial choice, but it shows how important hockey is for Canadians and Quebecers.

The method most frequently used by countries to choose a national sport is to find one which was created in that country. This is the case for hockey which is a combination of four other sports, three coming from abroad and one taken from the Indians. People probably do not know it, but hockey is a combination of bandy, originally from England, shinty, originally from Scotland, hurley, originally from Ireland, and, of course, lacrosse, a native Indian sport.

The books written on hockey do not say when and where the first real game was played. As the member for Kamloops and the parliamentary secretary said, many have their own ideas about its history. Many regions still claim, without documented proof, to be the site of the first game. However, we know that the first publicized hockey game was played in 1875 at McGill University in Montreal and that the first rules were published in The Gazette on February 27, 1877. All this proves one thing: hockey was truly invented in Canada.

It is also very important to look at the number of people who practice a sport to determine its popularity. Nowadays in Canada more than 650,000 men and women participate in this sport. Even if hockey is played mostly by men, more and more women play as well. Our women's national team has just won its third world championship in a row. This team's goalie is Manon Rhéaume, the first woman ever to play professional hockey.

Who has not played hockey in the street or on a frozen lake? So, when you say 650,000 players, these are players registered with the Canadian Hockey Association. In reality, there are countless players. Just about everybody has played hockey, at one time or another, more often in the street than on an rink with boards around it. The fans who closely monitor the performance of their favourite teams number in the millions. Names such as Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Gordie Howe, Maurice Richard, Bobby Hull, Jean Béliveau, and Bobby Orr are now legendary. They are or will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, in Toronto, where most of the inductees were born in Canada or in Quebec.

When we think about hockey, we think about the National Hockey League and the Stanley Cup, one of the most prestigious trophies in professional sport. It was created in 1893 by Lord Stanley, a great sports fan who was also the sixth Governor General in Canadian history. The original trophy was only a salad bowl for which Lord Stanley had paid less than $50. But over the years, several layers have been added to it; the names of the winning team members are engraved on it. In spite of its relative lack of value, the trophy is highly coveted.

Hockey has become the national pride of Canada and Quebec; it reached its pinnacle in 1972 during the series of the century which pitted Canada against the Soviet Union.

In Quebec, there is a hockey team which greatly contributed to enhance French Canadian pride-that is what we were called in those days-the Montreal Canadiens, created in 1909. With 24 Stanley Cups, they are the most important dynasty in professional sport in North America. In the twenties and thirties, this team was one of the first to recruit French-speaking players. Lightning-fast and aggressive, they were nicknamed the Flying Frenchmen. There was Aurèle Joliat, Armand Mondou, and Sylvio Mantha, to name but a few. They played in the Montreal Forum, the legendary building at the corner of Sainte-Catherine and Atwater.

It was during the forties and the fifties that they became truly legendary, especially because of Maurice Richard.

He was the first player to score 50 goals in one season in the NHL; he led the Montreal Canadiens to many Stanley Cups, including five in a row between 1956 and 1960. That man was a powerful symbol for Quebecers. The suspension which he got in 1955, depriving the Canadiens from the Stanley Cup, provoked a real riot in the Montreal Forum.

The Canadiens benefitted from an almost monopoly of recruitment in Quebec for many years. That allowed them to acquire players such as Phil Goyette, Bernard Geoffrion and Jacques Plante.

The Canadiens have always had many French-speaking stars on their team over the years. I will name some others: Jean Béliveau, Jacques Laperrière, Henri Richard, Guy Lafleur, Jacques Lemaire, Guy Lapointe, Patrick Roy, Guy Charbonneau and many more. Of course, there were also English players who contributed: Howie Morenz, Ken Dryden, Toe Blake, Doug Harvey, Larry Robinson and many others. Naturally, some French-speaking players also won fame with other teams: Jean

Ratelle with the New York Rangers, Mario Lemieux with Pittsburgh, Marcel Dionne and many others.

This was to demonstrate that Quebecers have been well represented in the sport that is called hockey. It was one of their first successes. Coming from the province of Quebec, I would not forgive myself if I did not mention the Quebec Nordiques who, due to the dramatic increase in salaries, may have to leave Quebec City, as other players from other teams may have to leave cities such as Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg and various small towns.

It is fine to adopt today an act recognizing hockey as the national sport. But I believe that one should also consider to take rather quickly some measures which would keep teams such as the ones I just mentioned in Canada and in Quebec. It is very important.

The last point I want to make is that, to preserve this sport, I feel it is important to take measures to fight against violence in hockey, a factor which may very well discredit that sport. In closing, Mr. Speaker, I wish together with my colleagues to congratulate once again the member from Kamloops for introducing this bill.

[Nelson Riis, NDP, Kamloops, BC]

Point of order, Mr. Speaker. In the spirit of co-operation and good will that exists and in an effort to acknowledge the days of work that the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage has put in to facilitate today, I wonder if I could seek unanimous consent of the House to acknowledge the parliamentary secretary as being one of the formal seconders of Bill C-212.

[The Acting Speaker (Mr. Kilger)]

Members have heard the member for Kamloops. Is there unanimous consent?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[Dennis Mills, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, I guess today would be one of those days that you wish you were involved in this debate having been a player not only of the Memorial Cup team you played on but a coach and referee in the NHL. We are certainly all aware of your participation in this national sport.

I begin by quoting from The Game which Ken Dryden and Roy McGregor put together. I think it summarizes most of the spirit and the theme that the member for Kamloops is putting forward in his bill today:

Hockey is part sport and recreation, part entertainment, part business, part community builder, social connector, and fantasy maker. It is played in every province and territory and in every part of every province and territory in this country.

Once a game for little boys, now little girls play hockey as well and so do older men and women, so do the blind and the mentally and physically handicapped, and although its symmetry is far from perfect hockey does far better than most in cutting across social divisions, young and old, rich and poor, urban and rural, French and English, east and west, able and disabled.

It is this breadth, its reach into the past, that makes hockey such a vivid instrument through which to view Canadian life.

I believe that Roy McGregor and Ken Dryden have captured what the member for Kamloops is trying to put forward today in this bill and I stand here in full support. I would like to talk about a couple of experiences that I have had in dealing with hockey as our national sport since I have been a member of Parliament and how I feel that it really pulls us together, not only as a House of Commons but as a country.

About the time when we were celebrating the 125th anniversary of our country a group of us from all parties got together. At that time most of us who were working on this idea were in the opposition. We went to the then minister responsible for national unity, the Right Hon. Joe Clark, and asked him to support us in bringing to Toronto 58 hockey teams from villages, towns and cities from all across Canada. From coast to coast, every region of our country, they all came to Toronto in April of that year to play in Maple Leaf Gardens in a 10-day tournament.

There were a few things that inspired me to believe that hockey truly is the sport that pulls us together as a country.

First I have to talk about the evening that the Dartmouth Whalers played in Maple Leaf Gardens against a team that most people thought would dominate the Dartmouth Whalers, a team in a AAA league in Toronto at the peewee level. At the end of the game the Dartmouth Whalers were victorious. They had beaten this Toronto championship team.

The following morning in the hotel I ran into the captain of the Dartmouth Whalers and I said to him: "Boy you had a pretty good game last night. We were all surprised that you did so well". He said: "Well, Mr. Mills, it was a funny experience. We walked into Maple Leaf Gardens. First of all when we looked up and saw those stands we felt the magic in the place. We felt good. But then when we got on the ice our energy quadrupled, our spirit was so great no one could beat us".

Those young peewees from Dartmouth said it all. Hockey provides an energy, a feeling and a spirit of pulling us together that I do not think any other sport in this country has. I am not

putting down any other sport, but I do believe it truly is our national sport.

I know you can relate to this, Mr. Speaker, because we both have sons who play in the Ontario Hockey League. Your son is a terrific player with the Kingston Frontenacs and I have had the pleasure of watching my son play this year with the Belleville Bulls. It is an experience going to these local rinks. I am amazed at the way it pulls the community together. It becomes the local event. The radio stations and the local TV stations and the whole community experience happens around hockey. There is a whole family experience that happens around hockey. This same experience is in every rink throughout our nation.

I am happy to stand here today in support of hockey as our national sport. I believe that hockey will be one of the things that ultimately keeps us together as a nation. I just cannot imagine the Montreal Canadiens being changed to the Montreal Blocs. It just does not work.

[Daphne Jennings, Reform, Mission—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I was going to rise in the House today to speak against this, but I guess I have to change that because I have already agreed to the amendment and everything.

Why are we using valuable debate time in this House to debate and vote on a bill which dismisses our national support of lacrosse as though it never was? Perhaps this member does not know his Canadian history. Perhaps this bill is presented to this House out of ignorance.

It occurred to me that if one member of this House is ignorant of our history perhaps other members are not aware of our rich cultural heritage, a cultural heritage given to us by our first peoples. I am therefore going to present some of our history of lacrosse to this House. In 10 minutes I cannot really do the game justice but I will do what I am able.

There are some who try to date lacrosse back to Confederation, perhaps because many of the encyclopaedias refer to it as being our national sport at that time.

Lacrosse cannot be dated in this House. Who in this House is going to decide when lacrosse started in what today we call Canada? We have records going back to the Seven Year War, the 1700s, and the story of the English trader Alexander Henry's experience at Fort Mackinac when on the pretence of celebrating King George III's birthday on June 2, 1763 the Ojibway Indians played lacrosse outside the open gate of the fort. When the ball went through the gate the players and the onlookers went after it.

Upon entering the grounds they attacked the garrison and seized the fort. It is told that the native women concealed the weapons beneath their skirts.

Father Brebeuf, the Jesuit priest, speaks of lacrosse in his writings. Many in this House I am sure are aware of the Jesuit priests or the Black Robes who date well back in Canada's 1600s.

I am told that the Creator gave lacrosse to our native people.

I have with me today a list of 27 citations referring to lacrosse as Canada's national sport. They are recognized authorities or researchers, such as sports writers, historians and five encyclopaedias. Some of these resources date from 1877, 1902, 1911 and right up to the present.

Shribners is the earliest source which in volume 14, May to October 1877, states: "The game of lacrosse was adopted as the national game of Canada on July 1, 1859".

In 1911, Encyclopaedia Britannica , 11th edition, states: ``Lacrosse, the national game of Canada''. I do not have time to quote them all here.

When our children ask us and their teachers for facts on a subject where do we send them? We send them to the encyclopaedia for factual information.

I am not here today to build up lacrosse and tear down hockey. Both are great sports. In fact if we were to ask our national lacrosse and hockey players their opinions I wonder if we would not find many had played both sports during their careers and value the special attributes of both.

Hockey legend Bobby Orr I believe played lacrosse for Oshawa. Other lacrosse celebrities including such names as Wayne Gretzky, Joe Nievendyke, Gary Roberts, Cliff Renning, Newsy Lalonde, Jack Bionda, Adam Oates, Brian Bellows and many more that I cannot name. Each played lacrosse in the summer and hockey in winter. Gretzky used lacrosse to sharpen his hockey skills.

There are some facts about lacrosse I am sure many members here are not aware of. The Guinness Book of Records states that the first night game of baseball was played in the 1883. Baseball fans pride themselves on the fact that this was an amazing accomplishment. Would it surprise the House to know that the game of lacrosse was played under the electric light in Montreal in 1880?

Are we all aware that some of hockey's proudest moments began in lacrosse? Each year there is a celebration and a congratulation among hockey people as they hold their all-star game. The concept of holding all-star games began in the 1870s when the lacrosse clubs in Ontario banded together to challenge their rivals from across the border in Quebec.

In the 1870s and 1880s when hockey was becoming popular, in order to increase its appeal to the public, the game borrowed from the most popular sport of the time, lacrosse, the concept of goal posts, centre face off, referees and the position names for its players.

In 1904 Canada sent its first delegation to the Olympic games. Among the team sports which represented Canada at its premier was the lacrosse team. Lacrosse is the only Olympic team sport where Canada has won more medals than the rest of the world combined.

Talk about numbers and attendance at sports games. In 1910, when the Canadian Minto Cup Senior Lacrosse Championships of Canada were played between New Westminster and the Montreal Shamrocks, there were 15,000 spectators. That is not very many you say. It is incredible when we look at the facts. The number of people living in New Westminster at that time was under 8,000. The game literally shut down the majority of B.C. as people travelled to New Westminister to see the game. That is the spirit of nationalism.

How many here are aware of the fact that the Right Hon. Lester B. Pearson during his office of Prime Minister became the head of only one sport in Canada? Lester Pearson accepted the role and served as honorary chairman of the Canadian Lacrosse Association.

I have always been a sports participant and not much of a spectator, but I did have an opportunity to learn about our national sport lacrosse. Often heard it is the fastest sport on two feet, from a family connection in my early twenties. Lacrosse great Jack Bionda is my brother-in-law, and he played both hockey and lacrosse professionally.

Through Jack I can best describe how these two great sports are a part of one's life. He played hockey for the Boston Bruins and in two Stanley Cup finals; for the Toronto Maple Leafs, among others, and was a defenceman for the Portland Buckaroos for six years.

However, lacrosse was his sport, beginning in Huntsville and carrying Jack to the west where he played in seven Man Cup finals, five of them winners. He played for the Victoria Shamrocks, Nanaimo and the famous New Westminster Salmonbellies. Jack's superb stick handling developed when he was a lad of 10 or 11. He was inseparable from his lacrosse stick and he walked to school practising, hitting the telephone poles with the ball as he walked along. This ability to control the ball until the last minute and score won him the lacrosse all time high scorer in his time.

He has been honoured in the New Westminster Lacrosse Hall of Fame and the Canadian Hall of Fame. Even today in his sixties Jack gives tirelessly to young lacrosse players at clinics and tournaments. His love of the sport extends to the continued use of the wooden native lacrosse stick.

That brings me to Wes Patterson, a Tuscorora native which is part of the Six Nations. Wes Patterson is a North American Indian who knows as much about the cultural heritage of our national sport of lacrosse as any person in Canada. For many years he has been engaged in successfully producing the wooden lacrosse stick through Can Am Lacrosse Ltd. I wish I had one in the House today to show the skill of this very talented aboriginal.

I have not yet had the honour of meeting Wes Patterson but I have it from good authority that this native can make a complete lacrosse stick in 20 minutes as you watch. He talks of the days as a young boy playing lacrosse and how you were not able to play on the team if you did not select, cut your hickory limb, steam it, bend it, shape it, cut the leather strips and make the net.

What am I trying to say? Is it not long past time for Canadians to realize the cultural contribution of our first people, our truly first people not just in sport but in many things? This is not mythology but true, actual facts.

I do not think Canadians can cheer any harder or enthusiastically for hockey than they have already demonstrated during the Canada-Russia hockey series of the past or than they did during our hockey team's performance at Lillehammer. Both sports are very popular at this time. If members are not aware, ask the countless volunteers who sign up the youth of our nation each season for both these sports.

Today I pay tribute to all volunteers in both associations who over the years have given countless hours promoting these sports. Above all I can never dismiss what the past has given us. We do have a rich cultural heritage.

Come to the Commonwealth Games in Victoria this August 18 to 28 and see lacrosse as the introductory sport. Who will be representing our aboriginal people? Wes Patterson.

[Warren Allmand, Liberal, Notre-Dame-De-Grâce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support this bill as amended. It was originally a bill to declare hockey our national sport and now it is a bill to have hockey accepted as our national winter sport and lacrosse as our national summer sport.

I fully support the amendment but I principally want to talk about hockey. I love this game. I love playing it. I love watching it. I love talking about it. Some of my greatest friendships have been formed through hockey.

As many know I come from Montreal, the hockey capital of the world. Montrealers, like no other citizens of any other city, breathe, live and die for hockey.

Last year was the 100th anniversary of the Stanley Cup.

In those 100 years, six Montreal teams won the Stanley Cup 41 times, including the first time in 1893. The Canadiens won it 24 times. I am saying that because I want to correct the record. Many newspapers in Canada, in listing last year those that won the Stanley Cup in those 100 years, mentioned that the Canadiens won it 24 times and that the Leafs won it so many times. They forgot that there were five other Montreal teams that won it to make it a total of 41 times for Montreal, way beyond any other city or community in Canada. This not to belittle the other cities

but simply to remind Canadians that Montreal is the capital of hockey in Canada.

I have been playing hockey since I was six years old and despite my ancient appearance I am still playing. At this time I want to pay tribute to the many Canadians who are still playing and organizing oldtimer hockey. There are now thousands of leagues in Canada, many tournaments and every weekend a lot of us old guys go here and there to play weekend tournaments.

I think all this goes to show what many people are saying here in this House. It shows that Canadians of all ages and both sexes love this game. We are supporting this bill to make hockey our national winter sport. I hope it would mean more than simply lip service to the game.

What I hope it would mean is that we as Canadians will really support this game at all levels from peewee to international hockey. There have been times in recent years when we have not at the government level and at the private sector level supported it as we should.

By making it part of our legislation, I would hope that our commitment to hockey as our national winter sport will make us more aware of its place in our history and in our tradition and culture.

I have only one concern and I will end with it. My concern is that the cost to young people playing hockey today is escalating to the point at which many young people can no longer play. I am sad to say that in many cases hockey is now becoming a rich man's sport.

That was not the case when I was young in Montreal. We played on outdoor rinks at the peewee level, the bantam level. If you played in a school then you might get on an artificial rink. Our equipment was not that expensive and we did not have many long trips or a long schedule.

I am not arguing with it but simply pointing out my fears. Today players at 11, 12, 13 are playing all their games on indoor artificial rinks which is very expensive. It is very expensive for the parents. They are fully equipped with the best of equipment. They have long schedules and often very expensive travel schedules.

I give credit to the parents who are doing outstanding jobs following their young boys and girls around with these teams. They are paying sometimes up to $1,000 a year simply to keep their children in minor hockey. If that had been the case we may not have had the Maurice Richards, the Boom Boom Geffrions and the Gordie Howes and many other of these players who came from moderate backgrounds and who went up the ranks and became outstanding hockey players.

I fully support this bill. Canadians fully support this bill but I hope once we pass it, it will not simply be a memory for us but will be what it means; namely a commitment by the Parliament of Canada to really support these two games, hockey and lacrosse, from the very minor level to the international level and the professional level.

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on a point of order. I would like to seek unanimous consent to prolong the debate for a maximum of one-half hour or at the collapse of the debate, whichever comes first, in order to permit more members to participate.

[The Acting Speaker (Mr. Kilger)]

The House has heard the terms of the motion. Is it agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[Suzanne Tremblay, Bloc, Rimouski—Témiscouata, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be able to spend five minutes of my time on this bill that I support, naturally. I would like to congratulate the hon. member who finally managed to bring his project to fruition. At least it is debated, and I hope it will pass before the end of the sitting. I congratulate also the parliamentary secretary for her amendment that we will gladly support. Since I do not know very much about lacrosse, I am sure this will be an opportunity to learn about it. We will have to find the equipment to learn how to play though. However we are already masters at other sports.

The previous speakers dealt mostly with hockey and I will follow their example. We tried to rewrite history, but the truth is the origin of hockey is largely uncertain. It is very difficult to know for sure where and how it started. Some people go back 2,000 or 3,000 years. Nobody knows. Even in Canada, the time and place of the first game ever played are difficult to find. I choose to remember one place, Montreal, and one date, 1837, 100 years before my birth.

[Fernand Robichaud, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

It was much earlier than that.

[Suzanne Tremblay, Bloc, Rimouski—Témiscouata, QC]

Perhaps. Let us not argue about it. Anyone can make his own choice.

Making hockey our national sport gives Canada another symbol. We had the beaver, the national anthem, the flag, now we have two national sports: lacrosse in the summer, and hockey in the winter. So these are important elements of our national identity. For now, they are declared national sports of Canada. As mentioned by my colleague, we will see in due time what Quebec will do about it, but I already favour the parliamentary secretary's proposition. The Montreal Blocs could very well play against the Toronto Maple Leafs. That would be a good representation of the two Canadian nations, once sovereign.

When the national news on TV begin with the announcement of the Canadian's defeat, I wonder less about the fanaticism of Montreal or Canadian fans than about the choice of the news desk officer. Recognizing hockey as our national sport implies that we must not value it excessively. Recognizing hockey as our national sport is of course recognizing its rights, but also its duties accordingly. I think we must act and clearly define standards so that Canada's national sport is played according to rules that apply even in the national league. Parliament could be called upon to adopt rules that would allow civil or criminal lawsuits against NHL players whose conduct does not improve because a national sport must set an example for a country's young people. Consequently, Canadian hockey officials will have to take on the responsibilities that come with it.

Canada should also make sure that, when it sends a team abroad to compete in our national sport, it can win medals as we are able to do with players of the calibre of our national champions such as Rocket Richard, who made this sport famous, the great Jean Béliveau, Bernard "Boom Boom" Geoffrion, who became the highest scorer, passing Maurice the day Mr. Campbell suspended him-

[An hon. member]

She really knows her hockey.

[Suzanne Tremblay, Bloc, Rimouski—Témiscouata, QC]

I was at the Forum the day of the riot. That dates me, I guess.

Several members have mentioned the great ones: Lemieux, Gretzky, Roy, Orr, and Hull. I congratulate the members who took part in this debate and carried it through. I am very happy to have two national sports from now on.

[Pat O'Brien, Liberal, London—Middlesex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I am pleased to congratulate the hon. member for Kamloops and am very pleased to support this amended bill. The bill recognizes two sports officially as our national sports, hockey and lacrosse, neither of which has ever been officially recognized in the House before as a national sport. I think that is a very positive initiative.

Can there be anyone in the Chamber or anyone in the country who does not know that one sport fascinates and obsesses Canadians from coast to coast to coast? Frankly we know that sport is hockey.

It is our national obsession. It is played by young and old, by male and female, by the able bodied and by the disabled. How well I remember seeing people playing a variation of hockey in a gymnasium, people who had lost the use of their legs. It is our national obsession unlike any other sport, and that is not to denigrate the many other sports Canadians participate in very aggressively, including lacrosse.

Whether it is my young son, Carl, or yours, Mr. Speaker, playing hockey in the backyard or Patrick Roy in the Forum, most Canadians have played hockey at one time or another in their lives, be they citizens in a large city or in one of our hamlets from coast to coast to coast.

Being from southwestern Ontario I can tell the House that the summertime sport of choice there is baseball. It always has been. London, Ontario has the site of the oldest continuous baseball played at Labatt Park. Not to denigrate the sport of lacrosse which I have played a bit, it is not played in some parts of the country. That cannot be said about the sport of ice hockey as we all know. It truly is the national sport of Canadians and I would say the national obsession of Canadians.

We all know that the true world hockey championship is not the Olympics or the yearly world tournament. It is the Canada Cup. That is the true world championship of hockey. Canadian men and women excel at this sport.

It has been said by several members that our women's national team has just won the world championships for the third time in a row. I expect they will add many more times to that championship run.

Hockey is part of our national identity. It helps us to define ourselves. Canadian poet Al Purdy called hockey a combination of ballet and murder. We might not like the second word but it is an aggressive sport. He wrote: "For years a Canadian specific to salve the anguish of inferiority by being good at something the Americans aren't".

The Americans are improving but they have a long way to go to come up to our level. As we all know with the American franchises by far most of their players are Canadians and with the influx of Europeans we are seeing the Americans still have a long way to go to catch us in our national sport.

The impact of the professional sports franchise, the Montreal Canadiens has been mentioned already. It is the most successful of all sports franchises. As several of my colleagues have said-and, my hockey loyalty can be found in this comment-the Canadiens 24 Stanley Cups is a professional sports record. No team in any other sport equals that success level.

I am proud to tell the House that although many early players were French Canadians and the sport was founded in Montreal, it was founded by an Irish Canadian by the name of Ambrose O'Brien. I am proud to note that fact in the debate.

Canadian cities compete to claim these hockey heroes. Being from southwestern Ontario I can say that Stratford likes to claim Howie Morenz as the Stratford Streak, but the people of Mitchell, Ontario, will say that Howie Morenz was born in Mitchell, Ontario.

We have national lessons to learn from the great game of ice hockey. I would like to refer to the most famous goal ever scored. That of course has to be the goal scored by Paul

Henderson to give us victory in the 1972 World Championship against the Russians, the first such series.

As a Montreal Canadiens fan my whole life, I am proud to remind the House that the Henderson goal was made possible by a great play by Yvan Cournoyer to keep the puck in the Russian end, an extraordinary effort when they tried to clear the puck, and then by Phil Esposito who refused to be denied his shot on goal, the rebound of which Henderson then pounced on and put into the net. It has hit me many times for years the symbolism of that goal. Let me give you those three names again: Paul Henderson, Yvan Cournoyer and Phil Esposito. That is the kind of co-operation we need in this country: An English Canadian, a French Canadian and an Italian Canadian working together to help us win a hockey series.

We are most confident, we are most determined and we are most united on a hockey rink. That is a lesson we ought to bear in mind as we support this bill. I applaud this. This is not frivolous in any way. This is an extremely important bill. It is well worth the time for us to take a few minutes in this House and learn the lessons we should be learning from hockey. The fact that we are at our best as a nation when we set aside background, English, French, ethnic, and we work together as a nation. May it always be so.

[Sharon Hayes, Reform, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support Bill C-212 and the amendment introduced by the parliamentary secretary.

This discussion encompasses much more than the pros and cons of two Canadian sports. Rather it is an opportunity for us as members of Parliament to raise a rallying point to help us further define ourselves as Canadians. I assert that by naming Canada's national sports, with which we identify parts of our history, our present reality and a future that can bring all Canadians a step closer together.

There are certain questions we can ask ourselves. My colleague has actually presented a case for lacrosse. I wish to briefly propose some questions that will address whether hockey should be made Canada's national sport.

First, is hockey rooted firmly in Canada's history? As we have heard the answer is an unequivocal yes. Hockey in Canada has been in existence for as long as Canada itself. Hockey is a uniquely Canadian sport dating as far back as the early 19th century.

The hockey that is most familiar to Canadians today was first introduced in Montreal by a McGill University student named J.G.A. Creighton. The first world hockey championship was held in Canada in 1883. The first Stanley Cup game was held in 1894 and won by the Montreal triple A team.

In addition to Lord Stanley's contribution, Canada also recognizes excellence in hockey through other historical awards. The Lester Pearson award is given to the most outstanding player in the NHL. The Lady Byng Memorial Trophy is awarded to the player who has exhibited the best type of sportsmanship combined with a high standard of playing ability.

Second, is hockey seen by Canadians as their national sport? Most Canadians would answer yes. Over the last several decades hockey has consistently attracted a number of fans and participants greater than all other sports together. Household words are hockey names like Rocket Richard, Gordie Howe and Wayne Gretzky.

There are over half a million players registered at the amateur level and for each of those at least five other Canadians are behind the scenes. There are 31,000 teams and 2,400 hockey organizations registered with our national registry. These numbers do not include the many tens of thousands of other players. From pre-schoolers to old timers there is an explosion of participation. Like so many other centres in my own riding of Port Moody-Coquitlam the facilities in our area just cannot keep up with the demand.

Third, is hockey an inclusive sport open to all Canadians? For instance, women's hockey is the fastest growing sport played by women in Canada today. Two weeks ago our women's national team gained international recognition as the best team in the world. This was their third straight world title. They have yet to lose to any country at the international level.

Fourth, is hockey accessible to Canadians? Canada boasts the most impressive organizational network for hockey in the entire world. Known as the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association this body links the membership of local associations to all other nationally and internationally organized bodies. First formed in 1914 the CAHA has nurtured amateur hockey in Canada so that millions of Canadians from coast to coast can come together. In addition, police and government organizations, colleges, universities, et cetera, et cetera bring Canadians together through hockey across Canada.

Fifth, does hockey serve the interests of Canadians both individually and as a community? Hockey indeed enriches the lives of many Canadians. It encourages leadership among our youth. It teaches sportsmanship, drive and determination. It builds a healthy sense of competitiveness and fosters an atmosphere where lasting friendships as we have already heard can be developed.

Millions of volunteers offer their time to this sport each and every year. Parents, teachers, friends, neighbours, people from all walks of life invest their time in their communities and therefore in Canada as a whole. In addition, an estimated $400

million is pumped into the national economy annually as a direct result of hockey.

Sixth, when other countries look at Canada, what do they see? They see hockey. Teams from across Canada travel all over the world to challenge the best players from other countries. Whether we win or lose on the ice as a nation, Canada wins each and every time one of our teams competes abroad.

Remember well the 1972 Canada-Russia series when Paul Henderson scored. It was one of the great moments in our history, a moment in time that caught and has held the hearts of all Canadians.

Seventh, when Canadians look at Canada what do we see? Canada is hockey. Hockey is played in every region of the country, from west to east, south to north, from Vancouver to St. John's, from Calgary to Montreal, from Edmonton to Toronto, and in every town and village in between.

We look at the present and to the future and see the need to bring Canadians closer together. We need symbols that represent Canada as a whole. We need to build on what we have. Hockey and lacrosse can play a part in furthering pride in our land and our unity.

In the words of one of our hockey greats: "The 1972 Canada-Russia series was not politics, it was not sport. At that time we were not considered easterners or westerners, we were Canadians. We represented Canada and had the best players in the world".

In conclusion, from what I have heard today, may I suggest that we take part in Winterlude on the ice next year and show Canada that we as parliamentarians can enjoy our national winter sport.

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Mr. Speaker, here we are at the beginning of the parliamentary season and tonight we are already going into overtime.

The speeches from members across the way could be characterized as very careful stick handling. The House of Commons today will score with all Canadians, I am sure, when we pass this bill. A referee of the NHL is in the Chair as we are having this debate, and I am speaking of you, Mr. Speaker. I think the parliamentary secretary has scored a hat trick with all three readings in one day. This is a shoot out for the member for Kamloops because in the end, he is going to have the winning goal.

We achieved all of this without penalty. Mr. Speaker, I hope you do not think I am offside for making these remarks as we are approaching the termination of the debate.

The net gain in all of this is that Canadians will win and no one will lose. This has to be the only game in town where you have winners and no losers. Indeed, this is a victory for the Canadian hockey team with a very large C .

The Canadian team has just won. And tonight, all of us will be winners when we adopt this bill.

[The Acting Speaker (Mr. Kilger)]

I must tell you in my 10 years with the National Hockey League I would commonly tell the players: "I call 'em as I see 'em" and they would say: "But Bob you don't see enough". Well, today I wear glasses so I can see all of you.

[Benoît Sauvageau, Bloc, Terrebonne, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I too am pleased to support this bill which recognizes hockey as the national sport.

Like my predecessors did earlier, all Canadians and Quebecers agree that hockey should be recognized as the most popular, and therefore national, sport. This goes without saying. All we have to do is look at the popularity of the playoff games now under way, or scheduled to start in a few minutes, to recognize the importance of hockey.

However, to introduce a somewhat discordant note into the proceedings, the government is trying to use hockey as a component of national unity.

I would remind them that this evening, the Canadiens are playing against Boston, that is a sovereign Canadian country is squaring off against a sovereign American nation. If I am not mistaken, I believe that Toronto is also playing against Chicago. I do not think that Mr. Clinton and Mr. Chrétien call one another up very often or that this creates problems between the two sovereign countries. National unity, perhaps.

Still on the subject of the importance of hockey as a national sport, I want to say, as indicated earlier, that by now there is probably not one soul in Quebec or even in Canada who has not heard about Patrick Roy's appendicitis, and we hope he gets well soon.

However, let me express some reservation about debating hockey in this place, all the while respecting the principles of the parliamentary system.

Yesterday, I was the guest speaker at a luncheon organized by the Chamber of Commerce of Repentigny. By the way, I thank them for their invitation. A hundred or so business people from my riding were gathered and there were discussions about the difficult economic situation, the interest rates, and the insufficient risk capital made available to small business. Other subjects of discussion included the GST and the Quebec sales tax as well as unemployment and, of course, sovereignty.

A quick look at yesterday's Hansard leads us to ask questions on several problems facing people; yet we are talking about hockey tonight.

The issues debated yesterday in this House include the military college in Saint-Jean; Pearson Airport; the Young Offenders Act; South Africa. We congratulate them on their first democratic election and we hope that everyone will recognize the election results. Also, Bosnia; Canada's credit rating; bilingualism; the fisheries; Hibernia; the economy; AIDS; income tax; and job training.

I said earlier that many young people watch our proceedings. Talking about job training, I would like to quote the hon. member for Bonaventure-Îles-de-la-Madeleine who said yesterday in this House in answer to my colleague from Lévis: "The federal government does not intend to question provincial jurisdiction over education".

Does this mean that he will not discuss it, that he will take on total jurisdiction in this area? His answer raises questions.

Still on the subject of young people, the hon. member for Bonaventure-Îles-de-la-Madeleine said on CBC two weeks ago that 30 to 60 per cent of young Quebecers are dropouts because of the plan for sovereignty. Look at this figure: between 30 and 60 per cent. With such precise numbers, he could be finance minister.

Last fall, Maclean's showed that although serious, the actual dropout rate of young people in Quebec was about 20 per cent. We agree that we must encourage our young people and our youth, but not at their expense and not with crass petty politicking like he engages in too often.

Mr. Speaker, as I said at the beginning of my presentation, I support the bill to recognize hockey as Canada's national sport, but let us all agree that people in Quebec and Canada and throughout the world face much more urgent problems.

[John Solomon, NDP, Regina—Lumsden, SK]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to join with my colleagues in the House of Commons this evening to support Bill C-212.

I stand in this House as a certified CAHA hockey coach. I am from Saskatchewan and we do have world curling champions, both men and women. Hockey is played in every community on every dugout in the winter and on every piece of ice that one can find in every community in our province.

That is a tribute to the type of thing we are doing today in the House of Commons, making hockey along with lacrosse our official national sports.

Every Canadian either played hockey or wants to play hockey. It is a dream of almost every young hockey player to play in the NHL.

Although Saskatchewan does not have any NHL teams we have exported a number of NHL hockey players to make up a number of teams. For example, we have Mike Modano playing for the Dallas Stars. He played for the Prince Albert Raiders at one point. Ron Grechner who is now with the Sabres is from North Battleford. Theoren Fleury from the Calgary Flames was playing for Moose Jaw at one point. Jeff Shantz is from the Regina Pats. He is playing with the Chicago Black Hawks.

Of course Wendel Clark who is from Kelvington, Saskatchewan is playing with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Doug Wickenheiser, the first draft choice of the Montreal Canadiens, is from the Regina Pats. We have as well Barry Melrose who played hockey in the NHL and coaches the Los Angeles Kings. I believe he is from Kelvington as well, the same place as Wendel Clark. Bill Hicke played many years ago for the champion Montreal Canadiens.

We have from Floral, Saskatchewan Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe. Hockey is such a popular sport in our province that there is even a statue to Gordie Howe among the many statues in Saskatoon that my colleague from across the floor would acknowledge and certainly support.

As a matter of fact, Gordie Howe is such a major figure in Saskatchewan that he has even got some colleagues of mine in university passing grades. For example, we had a psychology exam one day and one of my friends from Saskatchewan did not know the answers so he wrote a story about Gordie Howe which had nothing to do with psychology. The professor gave him an A for this exam because he was a Gordie Howe fan too. I think that it has interesting implications as we go through the hockey process.

I want to not only support this bill but acknowledge in this House that the Regina Pat Canadians are the 1994 Canadian midget champions. They have played very well throughout the season and ended up winning the entire championship recently.

Not only have I been a coach, I have worked with many individuals in the community. I want to acknowledge this evening the volunteers who have spent hundreds of hours and many years in particular in my district, Regina-Lumsden, working for both the parks and recreation leagues which have in my constituency probably about 2,000 hockey players overall, as well as those in the more competitive city league of Regina which has about 1,600 players for the entire city at a higher level.

I think what they are doing is very important. Individuals like Greg Mario, president of the Regina Northwest Sports Association, and Harald Gohlke, vice-president in charge of hockey,

have made significant contributions to the community by being involved in the sport, in the community by teaching young players not only skills but how to get along in life as they age and become very reliable and admirable citizens of our country.

There are about eight hockey rinks in my constituency. They are always filled from five o'clock in the morning until late at night. We have not only the recreation leagues and the competitive leagues but the senior leagues, the oldtimers, those over 30 as well. Everybody in my community, if they do not play hockey, has played hockey. I think that is an indication of the broad based support for this very important national sport that we are approving this evening.

In summary, I want to say that "he shoots, he scores" is a very well known slogan in hockey. As far as I am concerned everybody in this House this evening has taken a shot today and everybody has scored.