Mr. Speaker, the 2002 British Columbia Winter Games open on February 21 in the city of Williams Lake, the heart of the colourful Cariboo in central British Columbia. It is a great four day party and everyone is invited.
This gold rush of competition features 27 different sporting events at 19 venues in Williams Lake, Quesnel, 100 Mile House and Lac La Hache. About 2,500 world class athletes will be competing for places in the Canada Winter Games.
Local individuals and community groups have been working with great enthusiasm to make this the best British Columbia Winter Games ever. We will be ready to welcome the athletes, their families and their fans. With our average annual snowfall of about 166 centimetres and an average temperature of minus five degrees we have great weather for this year's events.
I congratulate the organizers and the army of volunteers for a great job in getting these games running. I extend my best wishes to the athletes as they test themselves in the competition.
Let the games begin.