Mr. Speaker, I rise today in the House to take this opportunity to congratulate the 277 athletes who represented Canada proudly at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
I know that all hon. members and Canadians everywhere join me in applauding the 30 gold medals, 31 silver medals, 38 bronze medals and all other exceptional performances that were witnessed over the past 10 days.
In sport all Canadians come together and agree on the importance of shared values such as excellence, dedication, discipline and fair play. In international competitions such as the Commonwealth Games we come together as a nation to celebrate these values.
Like every other Canadian I want to see our athletes on the podium. At the same time I want to recognize each and every one of them for what they have already brought to us through their commitment to their dreams and their courage in pursuing them.
I thank team Canada for the wonderful performances.