Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I announce that at 8.10 a.m. Eastern Standard Time this morning, after climbing for 16 hours, Ben Webster of Richmond Hill was the first Canadian this year to reach the top of Mount Everest.
Out of 75 climbers currently on the mountain, Ben and his Canada Everest 2000 teammates, support specialist Mike Drolet, also of Richmond Hill, and Quebec climbers Claude Berubé, Francois Bedard and Benoit Robitaille, are on top of the world today.
It was indeed a proud moment for Ben, who, proudly sporting the Canadian maple leaf on his jacket, noted that being first at the pinnacle could never have happened without the strong Canadian team with him.
No team mounts such an effort on its own. Complete with sponsors from coast to coast to coast, Canada Everest 2000 will go down in history as the first group of climbers to conquer Everest in the new millennium.
My colleagues, join with me in this celebration. Canada is on top of the world.