Official Languages committee  The comments coming out of Russia are very, very clear. If any of you have been watching the games—and Canada is 3-0 at this time, which we're proud of, though it's only a first step, and there are many more difficult games ahead of us—all of the comments have been positive. But it's not just that he's leading this team, it's also his character, and what he does in the communities where he plays, the children he touches, the Christian school that he works in during the summertime when he's not involved in the game of hockey.

Official Languages committee  Again, thank you. We are very proud, as I stated. Tom Scrimger came to Hockey Canada and said to me, will you take sledge under your wing? We had to work through our members, because of the dollars that would be spent on it. The proudest moment in my life, as president of Hockey Canada, wasn't in Salt Lake City when we won back to back gold medals, but in Torino, in the dressing room with the sledge hockey team.

Official Languages committee  I certainly respect your comments, but I'm not sure if you have a real feel for the other 22 players on the team. A real captain isn't only named by the coach or by the general manager or the assistant general manager back through to the president of Hockey Canada. A true leader is one who is respected by his 22 teammates.

Official Languages committee  Thank you very much. First of all, everyone here from Hockey Canada respects this government and respects this process. We want to bring this country together as one, and hockey does that in so many cases. As I said, Brian, we are very proud of what we've done to ensure that the atmosphere is a positive atmosphere in small-town Canada.

Official Languages committee  Thank you for supporting Team Canada. There was no pressure from the National Hockey League to name Shane Doan to Team Canada or name him captain. That's the responsibility of Team Canada. We went through the same process with naming this captain as we have through our women's world championships, our men's world championships, our world juniors.

Official Languages committee  I can't speak for every individual who plays the game of hockey. You always try to teach your kids as they're growing up to be upfront and take on responsibility. We'll see through the court process if someone does and who that is. I certainly hope the person who did say those words will stand up at that time.

Official Languages committee  I've talked about respect today, and it is something we want. We want everyone to respect all the players, including Shane Doan. Shane Doan has played in 46 international matches, and all the other 22 players on this team have only played a total of 116. If he wasn't named captain there would be a huge question in the minds of those other 22 players as they skated onto the ice.

Official Languages committee  Thank you very much. On having this opportunity to speak, I can tell you that I was supposed to be in Russia with the team and having other international meetings today. I respect being here, and I also feel good that we get to lay out our case. As I've said many times here today, Shane Doan is a person who is our captain and has been doing a great job.

Official Languages committee  First of all, it's very difficult to comment on some of these things because of the legal situation that sits there. But I can tell you that the information we got was that Shane Doan very clearly did not say this. The other thing we should be clear about is that there were people on the ice who may have said this who weren't Canadians.

Official Languages committee  Yes. That is the information I got through the investigation by the National Hockey League. That's why there was no further suspension of Shane Doan. They definitely could not prove that those statements were from Shane Doan.

Official Languages committee  Thank you very much. We do have the same goals when I look around this table, and hopefully we can all be on the same team. We do look at promoting both languages in this country. We're proud that we're one of the few sports with a full-time translator. We have an office in Montreal.

Official Languages committee  Could you say that again, please?

Official Languages committee  Okay. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

Official Languages committee  I have looked at all of the information that went to the National Hockey League. I certainly did read his statement, and I also had a briefing from the National Hockey League on all of their findings. I don't have all the dealings of the National Hockey League, but I certainly have a good majority of their investigation.

Official Languages committee  No, I didn't. I talked through the National Hockey League and through the people who did the investigation for the National Hockey League. The reason that I have talked directly to Shane Doan in this case is because he's a member of Team Canada. He's the captain of Team Canada, and he has been criticized by the Government of Canada.