Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today to share the outstanding achievement of two teams of students at Gladstone Secondary School in Vancouver Kingsway, who won first and second prize at the VEX Robotics High School World Championship in Anaheim, California.
Under the guidance of dedicated teachers Todd Ablett and Paul Wallace, the students combined hundreds of hours of extra work, creativity and a competitive spirit to become the first Canadian team in history to bring home the top prize.
This achievement underscores the importance of a strong public education system in our country. It also demonstrates the critical need to support science and technology in our economy.
Given the opportunity, resources and support, our youth can outshine any team in the world. The bright ideas of our youth today will be the transformative innovations that build the Canada of tomorrow.
I congratulate Gladstone Secondary School and all who participated in this competition on their brilliant success. They have done us all proud.