Mr. Speaker, on December 28, 2008, 11 young men went snowmobiling in the back country of the Elk Valley. Regrettably, only three returned. A succession of avalanches swept over them.
The deaths of Daniel Garry Bjarnason, Warren Ivan Rothel, Blayne Joseph Matthew Wilson, Michael Ernest Stier, Leonard Ernest Stier, Rodney Kane Rusnak, Thomas Michael Talarico and Kurt Jackson Kabel ripped a hole in the lives of their families and their community.
Sparwood residents embraced the families and more than 2,000 people from throughout the valley attended a memorial service in their memory. Tributes to these fine Canadians poured in from far and wide.
I wish, on behalf of all members of the House, to extend to their families, loved ones and their three friends who survived this tragedy, Jeff Adams, James Drake and Jeremy Rusnak, our deepest condolences.