News Release

From the Prime Minister's Web Site (http://www.pm.gc.ca/)

---

PRIME MINISTER HARPER PAYS TRIBUTE TO THE "FATHER" OF ORGANIZED HOCKEY

May 22, 2008
Montreal

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced James George Aylwin Creighton, the "father" of organized ice hockey, will be honoured as a Canadian of National Historic Significance. The Prime Minister made his comments at a commemoration ceremony held at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

"The evolution of hockey, like any sport, was – and is – an incremental process, and James Creighton deserves recognition because he formalized the game, bringing it indoors, establishing fixed teams (originally nine players a side) and helping create the first written code, from which today's rulebook is descended," said Prime Minister Harper.

Creighton is credited with organizing the world's first indoor hockey game at Montreal's famed Victoria Skating Rink on March 3, 1875. He went on to captain a team that played regularly, inspiring others to do the same, and thus laying foundations for the rapid development and popularization of organized hockey.

"I want to thank the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada for approving the designation of James George Aylwin Creighton as a historic person," said the Prime Minister. "The plaque we're unveiling today will ensure that his contributions to hockey are known to future generations of Canadians."

Canada's system of national historic sites now includes 937 national historic sites, 611 national historic persons and 391 national historic events. The majority of national historic sites are owned and operated by private individuals, not-for-profit groups, and corporations. Parks Canada protects and presents 157 of these special places on behalf of Canadians.

---

The Prime Minister's Office - Communications
[Note: You are receiving this e-mail for information only, and because you have subscribed to our distribution list. To modify your subscription or to have your name removed from the list, go to: (http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/subscribe.asp?login)]