Mr. Speaker, on World AIDS Day, I honour a Canadian hero, who, 30 years ago, turned tragedy into hope.
During the AIDS pandemic, Dr. Peter Jepson-Young, a young Vancouver physician, contracted AIDS. Instead of submitting to fear, he chose to shed a light on the deadly disease through a CBC series, the Dr. Peter Diaries.
From 1990 until his death in 1992, for 111 episodes, Canadians glued to our TVs shared Dr. Peter's pain, watched the disease devastate his body and listened as he explained every stage in clear detail with candour and humour.
Nominated for an Academy Award, the Dr. Peter Diaries fought stereotypes and broke down the social taboos around HIV/AIDS, shaping how Canadians perceived and understood the disease and those who suffered it.
Dr. Peter's legacy lives on in the work of the Dr. Peter Centre in Vancouver, one of the world's most progressive care facilities for persons with HIV-AIDS.