The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Steve Crocker, Minister of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation:

Speaker, I rise in this Honourable House today to recognize an incredible group of young people from Newfoundland and Labrador.

More than 160 athletes from our province were in Prince Edward Island recently to compete in the 2023 Canada Winter Games.

Today, I extend my sincere congratulations to everyone who competed, including five remarkable athletes who came home with medals. They are:

• Gleb Evstigneev, gold in Trampoline;
• Maddox Glover, gold in Special Olympics Level II Figure Skating;
• Mark Butt and Lily Evans, bronze in Pre-Novice Pairs Figure Skating; and,
• Mike Gosine, bronze in Boxing.

I also invite all Honourable Members to join me in congratulating Team NL’s Gabe Flynn for winning the Pat Lechelt True Sport Award, which is an incredible accomplishment.

Speaker, just as Premier Furey was pleased to join Team NL for the opening ceremonies and to see the athletes in action, I was equally honoured to join our athletes at the closing ceremonies, where the Canada Games flag was handed off to Newfoundland and Labrador and our capital city of St. John’s, as the next host of the 2025 Canada Summer Games.

To the mission staff, coaches, managers and family members who stood behind our athletes, thank you for all you do to guide them, support them and teach them the skills they need to be successful, in sport and in life.

We look to 2025 with much anticipation and will work with the City of St. John’s and other community partners toward delivering a Canada Games like no other. Our support to date has been strong, including our recent investments in tennis and a new track and field facility. I look forward to sharing more exciting news about these efforts over the coming months.

Thank you.