Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today, along with my colleague from Nickel Belt, to commemorate another great achievement by Sudbury native and Olympic gold medallist Tessa Bonhomme.
On Monday night Tessa and skating partner David Pelletier were crowned the champions of the third season of CBC's Battle of the Blades.
The Battle of the Blades partners professional hockey players with professional figure skaters. Each week the pairs present a routine to the judges. Viewers then vote for their favourite performance.
Bonhomme, who won a gold medal as part of the Canadian women's hockey team at the 2010 Olympics, was the first female hockey player to take part in the show.
As the champions, Bonhomme and Pelletier won $100,000 for the charity of their choice.
Since the show's inaugural season in 2009, Battle of the Blades has made nearly $1 million in charitable donations to organizations in Canada, a truly remarkable figure. This year, Bonhomme has dedicated her prize to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure in my great riding of Sudbury.
Congratulations to Tessa Bonhomme.