Mr. Speaker, it is a great honour to rise in the House today to pay tribute to all the athletes from Canada who participated in the Paralympic games this past winter in Nagano, Japan.
We have in our presence today some of these world-class athletes, athletes who are dedicated to excellence in their sport as demonstrated through their commitment to training and achieving results. The results have been impressive.
This was Canada's best ever showing at the Paralympic games as we came away with one gold, nine silver and five bronze medals.
I would like to recognize the tremendous sacrifices made by all our athletes and the support that is given to them by their families, coaches, trainers, friends, as well as the financial contributions of over 20,000 donors. All these people played a big part in the theme of the Paralympic games which was “Friendship and Warmth”.
I ask my fellow members of parliament to join me in congratulating our very own Canadian Paralympic athletes and medal winners.