Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honour my constituent Dr. Marco Terwiel, who passed away January 4 in Maple Ridge after a courageous battle with cancer.
Dr. Terwiel was a devoted family man, a superb physician, and a committed community member whose impact reached far beyond our community. He was born in the Netherlands in 1937; his training and experience eventually led him to Maple Ridge, where he practised for 31 years.
Dr. Terwiel was a founding member of the local Rotary and an honoured volunteer with St. John's Ambulance. He served as president of the College of Family Physicians of Canada in 1992 and regularly wrote a column for a local newspaper.
Throughout his career he was a strong supporter of family medicine in rural and remote communities, so when he retired in 1999, he served as a locum doctor for eight years in Nunavut.
I extend my condolences to his wife Lila and his family, and I would ask my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to an outstanding Canadian who will be greatly missed.