Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate Alistair MacLeod for winning the International IMPAC Literary Award, or the Dublin Prize, for his first novel No Great Mischief . The judges commented that this book, the story of a family emigrating from Scotland to Cape Breton in the late 18th century, was a “monument to the universal human spirit”.
We must salute the incredible achievement of being recognized in the largest awards process in the world nominated by public libraries from over 100 countries as simply the best.
This completes a great year for Canadian literature, including Margaret Atwood winning the Booker Prize and Michael Ondaatje winning the Prise Medici. These achievements are the fruits of years of efforts by brilliant authors, brave and visionary publishers and the wise public policy which has supported them both.
May we in the House of Commons continue to keep supporting our authors, keep our publishing industry alive and continue to firmly fix Canada's place in the world as a country of magnificent literature.