I could sing it, and everybody knows our feet are stomping all the way.
Hello out there, we're on the air, it's 'Hockey Night' tonight.
Tension grows, the whistle blows, and the puck goes down the ice
The goalie jumps, and the players bump, and the fans all go insane
Someone roars, "Bobby Scores!", at the good ol' Hockey Game
OH! The good ol' Hockey game, is the best game you can name
And the best game you can name, is the good ol' Hockey game.
Going further, the NHL legends who have performed on ice in this country, like Lester Patrick, Owen Nolan, King Clancy, Brendan Shanahan, Terry O'Reilly, and of course, Don Cherry, are all of Irish descent. Who could forget the big guy, Pat Quinn, beloved across the NHL as the “Big Irishman”? He received the Order of Canada in 2012 for his contributions to Canada.
There are some historians who point to the origin of the Irish game known as the the big hurling. What could be more important to building our country than that?
With all the talk of artists and athletes, let us not forget the legends of the Canadian stage, screen and comedy who have made such a huge impact in the Irish ancestry. I think of This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Mary Walsh, the actress behind Marg Delahunty. I think of Martin Short and Catherine O'Hara of SCTV fame, who have gone on to major careers in Hollywood and received many awards for their fantastic work.
There are many more names I could get into here today, many areas that I could sit and talk about, however, as I run out of time I am confident that the names and some of the examples I have talked about in today's speech will hit home with many in this country.
Irish Canadian communities of this country can be proud of what they have accomplished in 152 years of this country.
As it is our last speech on this side of the House, I want to wish you, Madam Speaker, and your family a merry Christmas. I want to wish every member in the House of Commons a merry Christmas, a happy new year and a joyous holiday season. It has been particularly tough on every Canadian and this place in particular since March 13 when we left and found out about COVID-19.
On behalf of the Conservative Party of Canada, I want to wish Canadians, coast to coast to coast, merry Christmas, happy new year, keep the faith and we cannot wait for 2021.