Mr. Speaker, this morning in Nagano, Japan Team Canada began its bid for a gold medal in men's hockey by defeating Belarus by a score of 5-0.
All Canadians share a sense of pride in the calibre of our men's hockey team. We have great expectations.
There are three families in my riding of Whitby—Ajax that will be on the edge of their seats throughout this whole tournament. These are the families of Joe Nieuwendyk, Adam Foote and Keith Primeau. These three talented players are products of the Whitby Minor Hockey Association.
The town of Whitby wanted to recognize and cheer on our local heroes. Several weeks ago I was thrilled to participate in the kick-off of a banner signing campaign. Thousands of Whitby residents signed the congratulatory banners which were presented to the families for delivery to the players in Nagano.
All of Canada will be cheering our team on. Members will appreciate, however, that the cheers from Whitby will be a little louder, especially for our three homegrown boys.
To Adam, Joe and Keith, bring home the gold.