It is heartbreaking and difficult to speak of the tragedy affecting the Humboldt Broncos

Yesterday, in the Legislature I spoke about the tragedy which has affected the Humboldt Broncos team when their bus collided with a semi-trailer. My comments are on the video by clicking on this link

My comments are also in text below:

Mr. Gerrard: Madam Speaker, Canada is grieving. This past Friday, 15 lives were taken from us and so many more were changed forever following the tragedy on a stretch of highway in Saskatchewan.

It's heartbreaking and difficult to speak to a tragedy like this. As a Canadian and a Manitoban, each of us knows a bus full of hockey players. These could have been our boys or our girls, which is why this loss hits so hard.

Naomi and I are parents of a son and a daughter‑in-law who were involved in a tragic bus accident in which eight people died. Bus accidents are not only an issue here in Canada, but globally. My son Tom and his wife Nadine were in Cambodia, on their honeymoon, when the tragedy occurred.

They survived, but like Matthieu Gomercic, a former Manitoba Junior Hockey League player with the Steinbach Pistons and the Winnipeg Warriors, along with the other passengers present on both buses who survived, the legacy of memories lives on to be shared and endured.

On behalf of the Liberal caucus we offer our condolences to the family, to friends, to teammates, and to the community of Humboldt. We pray for healing and comfort in this time of their tremendous loss.

I hope and I ask the Premier, in light of this tragic event, that the province will consider entering into discussions with New Flyer and the Winnipeg Jets and others to fund an initiative to improve the safety design for all buses.

Leave a hockey stick out tonight for the boys and the girls who play hockey, and please add to the donations still being accepted on Sylvie Kellington's GoFundMe site for the families of the Humboldt Broncos.

Thank you, merci, miigwech.

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