Mr. Speaker, on April 28, 1999 the entire country was shocked to learn of a shooting in a school in Taber, Alberta, a small town in my riding. The shooting took the life of a 17 year old young man by the name of Jason Lang.
The thought of losing a child is every parent's worst nightmare, but it was all too real for Reverend Dale Lang and his wife Diane. Who could have blamed them if they had become angry or bitter?
But the Langs are people of extraordinary faith. This morning Reverend Lang addressed hundreds of parliamentarians, diplomats, dignitaries and members of the public at the annual national parliamentary prayer breakfast where he delivered a truly inspiring message of forgiveness.
Where does the strength and healing come from which allow them to forgive the person who killed their son? Reverend Lang knows that it comes from God; a humbling reminder, colleagues, that there is an authority greater than the supreme court and the Parliament of Canada.