Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express the grief and shock of the people of northern Ontario over the loss of four young men in Thursday's medevac crash outside of Moosonee.
The crew was responding to a medical call in Attawapiskat, but they never made it. Just after midnight, the Sikorsky helicopter went down in the dense bush of the James Bay coast.
The people of Moosonee, Moose Factory and all our communities are in mourning. Our brave medevac crews are a lifeline for the northern communities and they often fly in difficult conditions, ensuring health care and emergency services. In this tragedy, we lost paramedic Chris Snowball, a father of three, Dustin Dagenais of Moose Factory, who left a wife and seven month old daughter, pilot Jacques Dupuy and captain Don Filliter.
On behalf of the New Democratic Party and all parliamentarians, I want to pay tribute to these men and offer our condolences to their families, loved ones and colleagues. We will remember them.