Hey guys!

(Cheers)

Everbody in a good mood today?  What a pleasure it is to see everyone here.  What an amazing pleasure to see everyone together, celebrating sports, celebrating our extraordinary Olympians and Paralympians.  How about a big round of applause?

(Applause & cheers)

I’ve got to say, every four years, politicians -- actually every two years with the winter Olympics -- politicians get to actually be cool and meet with amazing Olympians from across the country when they come to Ottawa to showcase how extraordinarily important sport is and how proud all Canadians are of the amazing performances they put out.  And I just want to say to all of our Paralympians and Olympians -- thank you.  Thank you for your dedication.  Thank you for your drive.  Thank you for making us so proud with your incredible performances on the world stage.  But thank you also for the time you take to encourage, to motivate our young people, to highlight how important it is to stay healthy, to stay focused, and to remind them that you were once kids like this, ready to take on the world and demonstrate that Canadians are among the best of the best on the planet.  So thank you thank you, Paralympians and Olympians, for showing us how capable you are.

(Cheers & applause)

And the young people, thank you for being here. Thank you for taking the time to thank our Olympians and Paralympians, for demonstrating that we know how important it is to exercise, to be physically active, to stay motivated, to stay focused on how we’re just going to keep getting stronger, keep getting better, keep facing the big challenges. This is a time for us to come together and celebrate our pride as Canadians. And certainly, I’m really looking forward to being with you.

Of course, I want to underscore once again the presence of our extraordinary Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities, Carla Qualtrough…

(Applause)

… who was an extraordinary Paralympian herself.  So what a pleasure to see you all here today and I can’t wait to get active with all of you.

Thank you, everyone. Thank you!

(Cheers & applause)