Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that I rise today to pay tribute to a great humanitarian and healer. Dr. Percy Demers was an extraordinary and committed physician, a specialist in cardiac and internal medicine.
The devoted husband and father of seven has been described by all who were fortunate enough to have known him as an exceptional doctor, human being and father. I extend my deepest condolences and those of my entire constituency to his wife, Patricia, and his family.
The even greater tragedy of this loss is that Dr. Demers and his family were victims of our health care system, the very system that he had given so much of his life to serve and sustain. Just hours before the tragic slaying, Dr. Demers' son, now charged with his death, was turned away from the emergency room while accompanied by Dr. Demers. Why? Because no emergency psychiatric care was available for him. Had he received the timely medical attention he so desperately needed, this tragedy may well have been avoided.
Our overburdened medical system has failed the Demers family and the people of our community. Let this be a--