Mr. Speaker, Canadians have been singing our national anthem, “O Canada”, for 119 years already. The English lyrics were written on the shores of Lake Memphremagog, in my riding of Compton-Stanstead, by Mr. Justice Robert Stanley Weir, while the music was composed by Calixa Lavallée.
Yesterday, a monument was erected in Weir Memorial Park to honour this great Canadian. The family of Mr. Justice Weir donated the park. It is the only public park along the shores of Lake Memphremagog that is maintained exclusively by volunteers, without any government subsidy.
Mr. Justice Weir had a strong belief in his country, so strong he wanted to write a song. By writing the English words to O Canada, he wished to harmonize symbolically the good relationship between the French and English speaking people of Canada. Today our O Canada remains one of the oldest national anthems in the world.
Mr. Weir would be proud, as we all are. This was a work of love for the greatest country in the world.