OTTAWA — Canada’s elite amateur athlete community came looking for a sweetheart deal on Parliament Hill.
And who better to light a fire under tight-fisted parliamentarians than “Canada’s Sweetheart,” 1948 Olympic gold-medal-winning figure skater Barbara Ann Scott?
The 89-pound octogenarian carried the blazing Olympic torch into the House of Commons in a special ceremony Thursday afternoon that temporarily united warring political partisans while simultaneously bumping the torch relay off its scheduled route in Montreal.
“I can’t tell you what a thrill this has been,” Scott twinkled after receiving a hero’s welcome from MPs and senators.
“Imagine, an 81-year-old gal being invited to carry the torch into the Parliament Buildings . . . Thank you, thank you.”