Hon. Marty Deacon: Honourable senators, I’d like to take this brief opportunity to share some wonderful stories of our Canadian athletes, coaches and their families representing our country at the Olympic Games.

First, I want to share with you one more outcome of the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. You may recall there was an IOC Refugee Olympic Team at the Tokyo Games. I am thrilled to share that some are now here in Canada as part of the IOC Refugee Athlete Support Programme, training for Paris 2024 and attending Sheridan College for the next three years.

As for these Olympic Games, we are on day six. Our 215 athletes and 85 coaches have faced a number of pandemic-related obstacles in preparation for some of the most important moments of their athletic careers. Each story is incredible. For athletes there for the first time, to athletes in their final games, all having done so much just to get to the start line in their field of play.

Imagine Liam Gill of Calgary, waking up to a call at home invited to get on a plane to replace a snowboard half-pipe icon, Derek Livingston, shifting to become an Olympic athlete in one moment. He, in his own words, was stoked to be the only Indigenous athlete on the snowboard team.

Our Olympic delegation includes six sets of siblings and four children of past Olympians. Regionally it includes one cross-country ski athlete who will be wildly cheered on from the Yukon, with a high of 57 athletes hailing from Quebec.

The pandemic has brought with it any number of obstacles, of course, with some members of Team Canada having lost their Olympic dreams before the Games began. But whether athletes are competing in arena events in Beijing or Yanqing, which is the home of alpine skiing, bobsled, luge and skeleton, or even further up the bubble train to the cold mountain-top village of Zhangjiakou for skiing and snowboarding events. Every member of Team Canada will give it their all. They will make us proud and unite us in our love for this country.

I remind you of one of my cherished moments of the many Games I had the opportunity to experience. Just before marching in the opening ceremonies, you see three large words on the wall; citius, altius, fortius; faster, higher, stronger.

In Tokyo, after 100 years, a fourth word was added; that is “together.” Let us be spectators together. I encourage you to learn the stories and engage with athletes from your community. And colleagues, for you, let these athletes inspire you to get moving inside or outside. Next week is National Health and Fitness Week, a time when I encourage you all to get outside and show Canada your moves in an effort to get people moving, get active and embrace the physical and mental health benefits that come with an active lifestyle. Thank you, meegwetch.

Hon. Marty Deacon: Honourable senators, we have heard much about our Canadian athletes as of late. They lead by example day in and day out. What is less discussed are their stories off the field of play that demonstrate their resilience and are sometimes more profound than their athletic accomplishments. For my purposes today, it is not their exploits on the field I would like to highlight but instead their leadership outside of competition.

As you will recall, shortly before the Paralympics opened in Tokyo, Kabul had fallen to the Taliban. Many Afghans worried about what was to come. Would they face repercussions? Would their families? As you can imagine, for those who competed in athletic competition for the joy of it — particularly women — these fears were front, centre and immediate.

Since 2012, it has been my privilege to mentor women in Afghanistan. I have also participated in and supported the Secret Marathon, an incredible annual event connected with International Women’s Day and spearheaded by hopeful young Afghan women. It has been humbling to observe their growth, their desire to learn and their desire to lead.

I and others in the Canadian sports and education community were contacted by several athletes, coaches, sports leaders and leaders in the LGBTQ2+ community to help them get out of Afghanistan.

Their stories were all gut-wrenching. My heart broke, and I knew we had to do whatever was possible to help. I still cringe to think that some of these athletes who marched into the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games in July were now running for their lives as their homes were invaded and personal property destroyed.

Over the hours, days and weeks, we collectively used every government, NGO and sport and education connection we could to leverage their escape from Afghanistan. I am proud to say that these connections, made through the love, humanity and unity of sport, led to the escape of dozens of Afghan athletes and coaches from the country.

By September, through this work and other work done by the Canadian and International Olympic Committee, specifically the Solidarity unit, every athlete who participated in the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games was out of Afghanistan with humanitarian visa in hand. There is little that is more powerful than when I received a photograph of a family last week moments after they were able to leave Afghanistan.

As we know, there are still many seeking support and their escape from Taliban rule. We continue to push and work with other countries to assist, facilitate and leverage wherever possible. I know there are a number of domestic and international leaders working collectively on the ground to help facilitate a move to Canada or to another country or to support refugees when they arrive. The degree of community at the international level and in Canada never fails to give me hope. Our national sports community has stepped up, like others, to exemplify our Canadian values in their response to the crisis in Afghanistan.

Thank you, meegwetch.