With the 2010 Winter Olympic Games fast approaching, now is the time for Canadians to get involved.  While volunteering at the games isn’t feasible for most Canadians, there are still a number of ways to participate. Becoming an Olympic Torch Bearer is one option.

The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay is an important symbol of community and national pride. Stretching across 45,000 kilometres, the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay will be the longest in the history of the Olympic Games to take place in a single country.

The relay itself will last 106 days and visit over 1,000 communities and places of interest, including an extensive tour of the North with a planned visit to Alert, Nunavut, the northernmost permanently inhabited community in the world. Approximately 90 per cent of Canada’s population will be within a one-hour drive of experiencing the Olympic Flame Route and 12,000 people will have the honour of carrying the flame, a majority of which will be selected from the public through competitions hosted by RBC and Coca-Cola.

The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay will begin in Victoria, British-Columbia, on October 30, 2009 and end at the Opening Ceremony in Vancouver on February 12, 2010, with the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron to signal the start of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

I encourage all my constituents to be part of the excitement and enthusiasm that the Olympic Torch Relay will provide to Canadians and visitors alike.  Canadians will have the chance to share in an unforgettable cultural experience while participating locally in the Olympic Torch Relay. 

For more information on how to become an Olympic Torchbearer, please consult the Government of Canada's Vancouver 2010 Website at www.canada2010.gc.ca.

These will truly be Canada's Games.

Looking forward to 2010,

Guy Lauzon, MP
Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry