Mr. Speaker, it is with sadness that we learned, on April 5, that senator Paul David, who founded the Montreal Heart Institute in the fifties, had passed away.
Dr. David was a world renowned cardiologist, who was also firmly committed to social action. He was the founder of the heart and stroke foundations of Canada and Quebec, of which he was also a president.
Dr. David received an impressive number of honours and awards throughout his brilliant career, both here and abroad.
A true pioneer in his field, he was only 35 when he founded, in 1954, in Montreal's east end, the famous heart institute that he ran in various capacities until his retirement, in 1984. It was under his direction that the first heart transplant ever performed in Canada was carried out at the institute, in 1968.
We offer our sincere condolences to his wife, Dr. Yvette Lemire, and his children, François, Pierre, Charles-Philippe, Thérèse, Anne-Marie and Hélène.