Mr. Speaker, today in Montreal, final tributes were paid to Maurice Richard at the funeral for this man, sportsman, hero and legend.
The sportsman had long retired, but his exploits remained engraved on our memories and passed on from one generation to the next.
The exploits of the hero, not only in sports but expressed in daily life through his qualities of determination, passion and courage, excited crowds and inspired determination and passion in a people. The hero has gone.
The man has left us. And now we pay a final great and sober tribute to his image. The sportsman and the hero depart with the man. But, Maurice Richard today is more with us than ever.
The man made way for the legend. May this legend be handed on from one generation to the next and continue to inspire a desire for excellence and determination in the people.
Farewell Maurice Richard the man. Long live Maurice Richard the legend.