Statement made on 29 October 2009 by Senator Lucie Pépin (retired)
Hon. Lucie Pépin:
Honourable senators, tomorrow, October 30, the Olympic flame will arrive in Victoria to start its 106-day cross-Canada journey. The flame, a powerful symbol of peace and friendship, will travel 45,000 kilometres across Canada.
As Senator Raine mentioned previously, this relay will be the longest domestic torch relay in history. Our immense country has already set the first record of the Games.
The torch, designed and built by Bombardier, will visit all the provinces and will stop at 14 military bases.
The 12,000 torch bearers will carry the flame from community to community, using up to 100 different modes of transportation, including the snowmobile, First Nations canoe, dogsled, chuckwagon, Polar Rover and kayak. So many truly Canadian modes of transportation.
The Olympic torch relay will pass through 1,000 communities, big and small, including 108 Aboriginal communities. The flame will go as far as Alert, in Nunavut, the northernmost permanently inhabited community in the world. The flame will then head to Cape Spear, Newfoundland, the easternmost point in North America. From there, it will cross the country once again to end its journey in Vancouver, where the Games will begin on February 12, 2010.
The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games will truly be the games of all of Canada, from east to west and north to south, from the people of Quebec to the people of the Yukon. The impressive torch relay is the best way of involving the greatest number of people possible and sharing the spirit of this unique experience.
The relay will bring Canadians together and inspire them, and the torch relay celebrations will not only help us rediscover the many cultures that make us a country and a nation, but they will also heighten our sense of belonging.
"With Glowing Hearts" and "Des plus brillants exploits" are the official mottos of Vancouver 2010. The mottos invite participants and volunteers to do their very best. I invite all honourable senators to share in the excitement surrounding the torch relay, and to do their very best to make the celebrations even better.
I join with Senator St. Germain in honouring the memory of Jack Poole, who unfortunately did not live to see the realization of his dream, the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. I congratulate the organizing committee on all its efforts to host such a fitting celebration of winter sport in Canada. I believe the games will be a success that unites us and reflects who we are, both culturally and linguistically.