Mr. Speaker, today we are celebrating an important anniversary in both Canadian history and hockey history.
On September 28, 1972, Canada beat the U.S.S.R. to win the hockey summit series in Moscow. With 34 seconds left in the eighth and final game of the series, Paul Henderson scored the most important goal in hockey history and Canadian history. Rarely has the country been so united.
Anyone who, like me, is 50 or older will remember exactly where they were when that goal was scored. As many will recall, there was no shortage of drama. It was the height of the Cold War, and Canada had to prove that we were the best. The Russians came and said they were there to learn. In the end, we were the ones who learned something. We learned to respect them for their outstanding abilities on the ice, and we also learned humility. That is what we need to remember.
The summit series is a milestone in Canadian and hockey history. Maybe the House of Commons is not the right place to say this, but as a Canadian and proud hockey fan, I urge the Hockey Hall of Fame to welcome Paul Henderson, the scorer of the most important goal in Canadian history.