Mr. Speaker, earlier this month we received the tragic news that one of our own had suffered a serious injury while training in Park City, Utah. Sadly, only nine days later on January 19, we learned that Sarah Burke who was only 29 years of age had succumbed to her injuries.
A six-time gold medallist at the Winter X Games and world champion freestyle skier, Sarah was a pioneer and fierce advocate for her sport. She recently led the campaign that will see the superpipe competition debut at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia, where Sarah surely would have been a gold medal contender for Canada.
I invite all hon. members to join with me and the legions of Canadians for whom Sarah was a role model and champion in keeping in our thoughts and prayers Sarah's husband Rory, her sister Anna, her parents Jan and Gordon, and their family and friends in Squamish, British Columbia and Midland, Ontario.
To Sarah, for the generation that she has inspired, for the memories that she leaves with us and for the spirit that lives on in our hearts, we thank her, we thank an outstanding Canadian.