Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise in the House today to underline the great accomplishments of the Canadian Paralympic team which brought home a total of 15 medals of which 6 were gold, 4 silver and 5 bronze from the Salt Lake City winter games.
This was a record number of gold medals for Canada at a winter Paralympic games and earned us a prestigious place in the medal count. Canada placed 6th overall, representing a significant improvement from our 15th place position at the Winter Paralympic Games in Nagano in 1998.
Among our numerous Canadian medalists we find: Daniel Wesley from New Westminster, B.C.; Karolina Wisniewska from Calgary; Lauren Woolstencroft from Victoria, B.C.; and Brian McKeever from Canmore, Alberta. Ms Woolstencroft also received the Whang Youn Dai award, the first Canadian to win this prestigious prize.
I congratulate all the athletes, coaches and staff who so proudly represented Canada and who are exceptional role models for the youth of Canada.