Mr. Speaker, it is with sadness that I rise today as well to join with the government in extending our heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of those who perished on Swissair flight 111.
I think I echo the sentiments of all members that when these tragedies occur what we are primarily conscious of is that there simply are no words to say to people who have experienced that kind of tragedy.
What we can do, as the Prime Minister has said, is try to identify the cause of the accident so that perhaps similar tragedies can be averted in the future.
We would like to express our gratitude also to everyone who was involved in the search and rescue operations at Peggy's Cove. The search and rescue teams showed extraordinary bravery, compassion and professionalism that has made all of us and indeed all Canadians proud of their efforts.
We all hoped on the night of September 2 that survivors would be found. We now realize that the investigation and salvage will continue for some time.
Our thoughts now turn to those conducting the investigative aspects and operations and pray that they will have the strength and courage to carry out a very difficult operation and that they will find out exactly what happened to cause such a tragedy. We admire the investigative people as well for the strength, caring and compassion that they have shown, and not just toward the victims of this tragedy but also toward each other.
I want to thank all the search and rescue and investigative people on behalf of all Canadians but particularly on behalf of the victims and their families whose lives have been so tragically altered by this disaster.