Madam Speaker, with the lack of sports on television, people are going into withdrawal. Grown men are crying because they are being forced to watch Walt Disney movies...
---Laughter
...instead of Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday nights. The Toronto Sports Network, also referred to as TSN, with the lack of hockey and baseball, have been showing some really interesting sports, such as camel racing, to satisfy the sports fan.
---Laughter
Madam Speaker, if I might be permitted, I would like to offer those poor, misguided sports fans some thoughts that may be of comfort to them in their hour of need. Now that there is no hockey to watch on Saturday night, perhaps a person could spend some quality time with their families. Go hunting, watch your own kids play hockey, confuse the wife and take her out for supper on Saturday night.
---Laughter
The possibilities are endless, Madam Speaker. They could take up the sport of MLA bashing, complain about their personalized licence plates, complain about the fact that some of us drive four-wheel drives and our plates are at eye-level. Little do they realize, Madam Speaker, that this is so we can find our trucks after a hard session at the Gold Range, the Northwest Territories' unofficial Assembly.
Madam Speaker, a person has to realize that professional hockey and baseball are games played by grown men who are paid outrageous sums of money to do what a majority of Canadian males only dream of. Whether your team wins or loses means nothing in the grand scheme of things. Your life will not improve because the Montreal Canadiens win another Stanley Cup.
Finally, Madam Speaker, a sports fanatic has to realize that Don Cherry is not a god. The man, himself, admitted that, if it wasn't for hockey, he would be digging ditches in Ontario somewhere. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
---Applause