Mr. Speaker, I congratulate Richard B. Wright on his splendid achievement in winning the 2001 Giller Prize for his novel Clara Callan . Clara Callan , Mr. Wright's ninth novel, is a remarkable depression era story of two sisters from small town Ontario whose lives diverge radically during a period marked by social upheaval and the imminence of war. As the jury remarked, Wright succeeds in “precisely evoking the Depression...while portraying Clara and her radio-actress sister with grace and wit”.
This is not the first time Richard Wright's work has received recognition. His first novel, The Age of Longing , was nominated for both the Giller Prize and the Governor General's Award. With his recent retirement from a teaching position at Ridley College in St. Catharines we can hope to see more work flow from the pen of this prolific and talented Canadian writer.
In 1994 Jack Rabinovitch established this Canadian literary prize to celebrate Canada's best fiction writing and to honour the memory of his late wife, literary journalist Doris Giller.
On behalf of the Government of Canada I congratulate Richard Wright for this achievement and wish him many productive years to come for the benefit of Canadian literature.