Mr. Speaker, courage is expressed in many ways. Sometimes it is the heroic effort of a Canadian peacekeeper or the selfless act of a firefighter who saves a child from a burning building. However it is expressed perseverance and strength always shine through in the drive to overcome nearly insurmountable odds.
Today I wish to acknowledge the courage of one individual, a young woman, Christine Ichim, who is from my riding of Kitchener, has taken upon herself the challenge of roller blading across Canada in an effort to raise awareness and research funding for the deadly disease of leukemia.
Her case is not unique in that thousands of Canadians and their families suffer as a result of this terrible cancer. With her mother falling ill with leukemia, Christine has made it her personal mission to find a cure to this disease, first by establishing a centre devoted to its study and more recently by organizing her personal challenge to skate across the country to raise funds for continued research.
It is for this reason I feel it is appropriate we acknowledge her courage to fight rather than despair. I salute Christine Ichim and ask that my colleagues share with me in wishing her all the success deserving of such a worthy cause.