Quotes by Canadian authors

"And now for Return to Flight, I'm chief of robotics working in the astronaut office in Houston, as a Canadian"

"So without that Canadian invention we were grounded. And so that was a really important and key part of the mission and Canadians should take real pride in it"

"My public life is before you; and I know you will believe me when I say, that when I sit down in solitude to the labours of my profession, the only questions I ask myself are, What is right? What is just? What is for the public good?"

"Will you permit the sacred fire of liberty, brought by your fathers from the venerable temples of Britain, to be quenched and trodden out on the simple altars they have raised?"

"My books are very few, but then the world is before me - a library open to all - from which poverty of purse cannot exclude me - in which the meanest and most paltry volume is sure to furnish something to amuse, if not to instruct and improve"

"Will you, my countrymen, the descendants of these men, warmed by their blood, inheriting their language, and having the principles for which they struggled confided to your care, allow them to be violated in your hands?"

"They have shrunk from inquiry, though they have strained after punishment. I have in every shape dared the one, that I might, so far as lay in my power, be able to secure the other"

"Such a prostitution of judicial power can never occur again under the shadow of the British law, for no jury within the wide circle of the empire would submit to such an infraction of their privilege, even if a judge could be found daring enough to attempt it"

"We may smile at these matters, but they are melancholy illustrations"

"I'll skate on concrete if I have to. I'm not worried about how fast the ice is. I'm worried about how fast I can go on the ice"

"I am kind of like a diesel. It is the cyclist in me"

"I still can't believe I won the Olympics. That's what I feel right now - completely alive as a human being. It's a really beautiful moment"

"I love skating so much and I feel like every time I step out onto the ice, that's what I'm meant to do"

"Our privacy is starting to be invaded and we can't get anything done. I'm happy with the fundraising but upset we don't have time to talk and meet with people"

"Even though I'm not running anymore, we still have to try to find a cure for cancer. Other people should go ahead and try to do their own thing now"

"Even if I don't finish, we need others to continue. It's got to keep going without me"

"It almost hurts me to walk down a road and have people grab my hand and ask for my autograph and not sit and talk. When I'm finished I'm not going to be on the front page, but I'm going to be just as happy without the publicity"

"I bet some of you feel sorry for me. Well don't. Having an artificial leg has its advantages. I've broken my right knee many times and it doesn't hurt a bit"

"I want for myself what I want for other women, absolute equality"

"I do not want to be the angel of any home: I want for myself what I want for other women, absolute equality. After that is secured, then men and women can take turns being angels"

"Never apologize. Never explain. Just get the thing done, and let them howl"

"I believe the preservation of the home in the future lies almost entirely in the hands of men"

"Do not rely completely on any other human being, however dear. We meet all life's greatest tests alone"

"The more the heart is sated with joy, the more it becomes insatiable"

"The main engagement of the writer is towards truthfulness; therefore he must keep his mind and his judgement free"

"One knows less about one's own destiny than about anything else on earth"

"My great hope would be that Quebec would realize itself fully as a distinct part of Canada, and stay Canadian, bringing to Canada a part of its richness"

"In my 50s I'll be dancing at my children's weddings"

"This is courtship all the world over - the man all tongue; the woman all ears"

"I grew up below the poverty line; I didn't have as much as other people did. I think it made me stronger as a person, it built my character. Now I have a 4.0 grade point average and I want to go to college, and just become a better person"