Olympian compatriots and dear colleagues, this summer, the whole world was watching the games in Atlanta. A record number of athletes gathered to participate in the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
These games are a stage for human achievement and friendship among nations. They also promote the participation of nations in a friendly competition and they allow athletes to reach the lofty goals they set for themselves.
The men and women, some of whom are here, the men and women who represented us the Canadian people in Atlanta were Canada's finest athletes. To have competed there is a remarkable achievement. And you the medal winners, you are recognized as the best of the best in the world.
Some of you surpassed all records of achievement in the history of sport and we in this room and we looking at you on our televisions now across Canada, whether we were in St. John's, Vancouver or Whitehorse, you had us all on the edge of our chairs. Now we Canadians do not usually make a lot of noise but when you won those medals, there were 30 million people up here in Canada pretty ecstatic and pretty noisy. Maybe you heard us cheering all the way down there in Atlanta.