Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House of Commons to join the Prime Minister in congratulating our Paralympic athletes. The Canadian Paralympic team has once again made our country very proud. They returned from the Salt Lake City games with 15 medals, making this Canada's best performance ever. We collected a record six gold, four silver and five bronze medals to finish sixth out of 36 nations, something we can be very proud of.
I cannot mention all of the heroes but I want to mention a fantastic few. Lauren Woolstencroft from Victoria, British Columbia won two gold medals. Karolina Wisniewska of Calgary had a second place showing in the same event, winning silver. Scarborough's Chris Williamson won the men's slalom. Victoria's Lauren Woolstencroft won a gold medal in the women's slalom events yesterday on the final day of competition. Brian McKeever of Canmore gave us a spectacular performance winning two gold medals and one silver medal in the 20 kilometre event for visually impaired cross-country skiers. He was also honoured by being chosen to carry the Canadian flag in the closing ceremonies.
While our athletes make us proud, there are many others who make these games possible. Our Canadian Paralympians depend on corporate sponsorship and donations to make their Olympic dreams possible. Seventy per cent of Paralympic funding comes from private sources. We thank companies like Pfizer, CN, Home Depot, Voiceprint, Roots, Bell and many others for all the good work they do with the Olympic athletes.
On behalf of Her Majesty's loyal opposition I want to once again congratulate all Olympic athletes and all the people who helped to make their Olympic dreams come true. We look forward to April 15 in the capital region.