During the 1930s, the dark days of the depression swept across the Prairie Provinces of Canada. Poverty was high, crop prices fell, and illness prevailed but as a result a dream was created that would encompass every race, gender, and class of people, a dream that would unite a country and create equality among all. This dream was to provide adequate healthcare for those in need, regardless of one's ability to pay. This dream was Medicare. Conjured up in the mind of the legendary Tommy Douglas, Medicare was born in the economically poor, sparsely populated, and isolated province of Saskatchewan. Medicare was a system devoted to the health and care of all people and was to be the benchmark of Canadian accomplishments, but its success came at a price. The doctors, the College of Physicians and Surgeons (CPS), and the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), were all opposed to Medicare and wanted to see it dismantled. Their arguments were centered around the notion that Medicare denied the freedom for society to choose their own health system, and that the power was being shifted into total control of the government. In truth, the doctors of Canada feared the loss of power and autonomy that would ultimately result from the Medicare Act. Many endeavors to squash Medicare were attempted by the doctors of Saskatchewan and the rest of Canada, by labeling the CCF government as communistic and power hungry moguls. Arguments and intense rallies dominated the political spectrum during the 1960s 'Doctor strike' and the face of Saskatchewan was changed forever. Many people acted in a way that would be considered an embarrassment in today's society-profanity, harassment, and childish behaviour was often displayed in a botched attempt to be heard. The anger of the doctors was at its height as the CCF increased it's power, and in-turn, Canada witnessed a virtual civil war. In the end, Medicare won and was then granted to all citizens of Canada. Unfortunately, in today's society, Canadians are seeing more attempts to abolish Medicare, but this time it is not the doctors who are opposing it, but the government who funds the program. For some selfish, power crazed, premiers, the privatization of Medicare would signify more money for provincial spending, and easier access to medical technology such as MRI's and specialized clinics. In reality, only the politicians and powerful private companies would benefit and the rest of society would be left with the horrible aftermath. Doctor outrages over wages and the right to free practice are not issues healthcare faces today, however the lack of funding, long waiting periods, and inefficiency brought on by the government, are concerns which may jeopardize the future of this Canadian society. In the fall of 1944, an exuberant, powerful figure came onto the political scene; Tommy Douglas was the new leader of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and the newly elected Premier of Saskatchewan. Creating and abiding by the slogan, "Humanity first," Douglas announced his first move as Premier-setting up a universal, publicly funded health system. Starting slowly, the CCF began to create government supported cancer clinics, and created a four-year medical school in the province. Douglas foresaw that public care should emphasize prevention of illness and promotion of health, so it was decided that hospitals would not only treat patients, but also ensure a prosperous road to recovery and prevention .
Three years later in the winter of 1947, the CCF implemented the "Hospital Insurance Plan," in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. The plan entitled the right to hospital care without receiving a bill and all doctor visits were to be paid for through tax collection.2 Ten years later, the Tory federal government, led by John Diefenbaker, introduced the federal/provincial hospital program in which the federal government would share the cost of the hospital plan with the provincial government.3 In 1959, just before the next election, the CCF, still led by Douglas, announced the decision to implement a universal healthcare system. The system of socialized healthcare would be on a provincial scale and would guarantee all services needed. It would make medical attention available to anyone regardless of a person's ability to pay; Medicare would be based on the "ability to benefit", rather than the "ability to pay."4 An introduction to the five basic principles of Medicare created a standardized format to follow. The five principles include public funding, universal coverage, high quality service, portability, and a form both acceptable to those receiving and administering care.5 The principles provided the backbone of the system. To gain support, the CCF quickly began to create slogans and posters to foster its new creation. One advertisement proclaimed the government intention to meet the needs of the community by implementing a plan that would mean, " coverage for all, comprehensive medical services, promotion of medical research, emphasis on treatment and prevention, and an accentuation on the value of human life."6 Although the slogans did catch a lot of attention, tensions among the professional doctors in Saskatchewan rose. A group of doctors, physicians, Chamber of Commerce members, opposition leaders and a few businessmen were quickly forming a tight knit group and campaigned against Medicare.7 One may ask why a profession dedicated to treatment of the ill would oppose such a worthwhile cause? The issue may have been seen as a fight over wages, which played a small role, but largely, the main cause for alarm was the fact that physicians would lose their power and autonomy in the field of medicine-a reality the profession was not intending to accept. After the CCF was re-elected and the legislation for Medicare had been proposed and passed, doctors began to vent their negativity towards health care and plan their attack. By 1961, six hundred of the nine hundred doctors in Saskatchewan were campaigning against medicare and creating their own media frenzy. Each doctor paid one hundred dollars to help aid in educating others of the, "evils of healthcare."8 In addition the CMA donated 35, 000 dollars to help finance the revolt and create a stir in the government. The doctors mainly targeted newspapers and wrote editorials slamming the CCF government. One article stated that,
These articles grabbed the attention of many people, and soon the doctors began to target specific minority groups including religious committees, the elderly, the needy and women. Mothers and wives often spoke out against Medicare for fear that their families would not receive the proper and adequate care they needed. Doctors claimed that with the introduction of the Medicare Act, the doctor-patient relationship would be lost and the secrets of patients would become the property of the government.10
The legislation of the Medical Care Insurance Act, was to be passed and implemented on July 1st, 1962, which did not give doctors a lot of time to prepare.11 On May 3rd and 4th, 1962, a special 'emergency meeting' was called to discuss further tactics to avoid the passing of the legislation. Stemming from the meeting the "Keep Our Doctors Committee" (KOD) was formed. The committee proposed that the CCF was kindling prejudices and denying the basic rights of freedom, nationality and class by invoking Medicare.12 The KOD sent out petitions, stating that the medical plan should be delayed until it could meet the demands of the medical profession. On July 1st, 1962, the official date of the Medicare Act, doctors across the province went on strike and closed their doors to the public. Signs were posted that read,
A rally was set up on July 11, to oppose the legislation, at the parliament buildings in Regina. Doctors, wives, opposition leaders, and all others with a grudge against the CCF were expected to attend. Of the expected 40,000, only 4000 showed up, resulting in embarrassment for the KOD. At one point in the rally, Liberal leader Ross Thatcher attempted to kick down the locked doors of the parliament building.14 The rally was a failure and an embarrassment to the doctors, soon afterwards they quietly returned to their practice. The power and strength of the KOD was never fully regained after the failed rally. The fight back campaign lodged by Woodrow Lloyd's (Douglas's successor), CCF government helped them to soar in the eyes of the public. The medical profession seriously misjudged the Government. Not only did the government have doctors on hand from different countries like Britain, the U.S and other parts of Canada, but an 'emergency measures act' was enforced to allow graduates the license to practice.
Furthermore, not all doctors were opposed to the benefits of Medicare, some believed in its true intent and others vouched to stay because of ethical reasons. The supporters of the CCF and Medicare were mainly grass root activists who had lived through the depression and experienced the "devastation of unforeseen disease," they believed in a system of equality where all could benefit.15 In 1964, a report, by the Government of Saskatchewan, was sent out recommending compulsory, universal medicare for all Canadians, and by 1966 the Medical Care Insurance Act was passed, which entitled all Canadian citizens to health insurance.16
The success of the CCF will remain a dynamic part of Canada's identity, but the goal of Medicare is being threatened. Slowly Canadians are starting to see many changes affect it. The governments behind Medicare are now beginning to turn the tables, and suggest a system of privatized healthcare-a system detrimental to the lives of all Canadians. In provinces such as Alberta and Ontario, politicians are going against all odds and proposing a system of privatized healthcare. The movement has been silent for the past forty years because the Canadian health plan has become so popular and has worked so well; it would have been political suicide to propose it's dismantling. But times have changed, the economy has shifted and provincial leaders have become greedy, wanting more spending money for individual needs. In Ontario today, the health system has been virtually torn apart. Mike Harris, former Premier of Ontario, and his government decided to close down the province's top hospitals, and build private clinics to withstand the mounting pressures of the health system.17 By demoralizing the people and creating systems where only the privileged may receive high quality healthcare, the government is slowly weaning the country into a two-tiered system. After time, it will be hard to look back, and remember a time when healthcare was accessible to everyone, and people will just accept the inevitable. The proposal of "The Health Care Protection Act," in Alberta or Bill 11, which allowed the construction of private hospitals, is dismantling the system before our eyes. The bill, first drafted by the Alberta Government and Premier Ralph Klein, places the Minister of Health and Wellness above the law, giving him the last and final say. One section states, "No decision made by the minister may be questioned or renewed in any court .and no order may be made or process entered, or proceedings taken in any court whether by way of injunction, declamatory judgment, prohibition .or otherwise to question, review, prohibit or restrain the minister."18 The Klein government of Alberta refuses to submit the bill to a referendum and allow the citizens of Alberta to vote on the future of health care, the reason behind this is that only about one in four Alberta residents support the bill and want to see it implemented.19 Klein feels that introducing private hospitals will reduce waiting periods, allow more surgeries, and result in a better, more comprehensive health system. Unfortunately he has no proof to support this notion. Thus far, the implementation of private hospitals has been a failure, with doctors and nurses out of jobs, decreased funding, and little government involvement. If provincial leaders are not stopped, Canada may never rebuild Medicare to its full potential. "In healthcare, service, not profit should count most," meaning the gains of the provincial government in implementing private clinics is harming the province as a whole.20 It is believed that by legalizing publicly funded private hospitals, the province can save its federal budget money to increase wealth and status of the province, when in reality the money should be used for its intended purpose-- the well being of all citizens.
The enemies of medicare are not found in the medical profession, but exist in the governments in charge. The pressure to build private hospitals, implement user fees and create a two-tiered system of health care, is growing through out the country --the division of a nation is slowly occurring between the wealthy and the rest of Canadians. It is the job of the citizens of Canada to speak up and take a stand against the issues which plague healthcare, for the people are the ones who will have to pay the costly prices. Prime Minister Jean Chretien, at one fundraising banquet, announced that, " Medicare is a monument to our compassion and generosity and is part of who we are. If we have the wit to invent Medicare, surely we can find the will and way to preserve it."21 The creation of Medicare has been an ingenious masterpiece, marveled and praised by the rest of the world, and the principles the system abides by should remain strong. Canada cannot remain silent about the issues surrounding the future of health care; everyone has a voice, which needs to be heard in order for Medicare to survive. Tommy Douglas had a vision of creating a system of free medical service to be available to, "every man, woman and child, regardless of race, colour or class,"22 We, as a nation, cannot let the enemies of healthcare destroy this vision. "Surely we're not going back to a system in which the quality of care patients receive depends upon their financial capacity to pay. Any free country that talks about the democratic process and allows extra billing to become the general rule is denying the basic principles of the democratic process," said Douglas in one of his final speeches.23 Canada should be proud of this amazing accomplishment and fight courageously for its survival-health care is too precious to be dismantled and given a death sentence by people in power who do not have the full understanding of what people in Canada want and need.
1 Jennifer Sass, "Curing Health Care," CBC News, CBC Corporation, 22 Feb. 2003 http://www.cbc.ca/news/indepth/healthcare/todays_pain.html
2 Robin F. Badgley and Samuel Wolfe, Doctors' Strike: Medical Care and Conflict in Saskatchewan, (Toronto, ON: Macmillan Co., 1971) 19
3 Jennifer Sass, "Curing Health Care," CBC News, CBC Corporation, 22 Feb. 2003 http://www.cbc.ca/news/indepth/healthcare/today's_pain.html
4 Susan Saunders, "Medicare," Briarpatch, 22.3(1992) 4
5 W.P. Thompson, Medical Care: Programs and issues (Toronto, ON, Clarke & Irwin Co., 1995) 8
6 Robin F. Badgley and Samuel Wolfe, Doctors' Strike: Medical Care and Conflict in Saskatchewan (Toronto, ON: Macmillan Co., 1971) 30
7 Robin F. Badgley and Samuel Wolfe, Doctors' Strike: Medical Care and Conflict in Saskatchewan (Toronto, ON: Macmillan Co., 1971) 31
8 Robin F. Badgley and Samuel Wolfe, Doctors' Strike: Medical Care and Conflicts in Saskatchewan (Toronto, ON: Macmilan Co., 1971) 32
9 Robin F. Badgley and Samuel Wolfe, Doctors' Strike: Medical Care and Conflicts in Saskatchewan (Toronto, ON: Macmillan Co., 1971) 33
10Jack Kinzel, "Extreme and Extremists," Briarpatch, 16.6 (1987): 15
11 Helen Heeney, Life Before Medicare: Canadian Experiences, ed. Susan Charters ( Ontario: Stories project, 1995) 11
12 Robin F. Badgley and Samuel Wolfe, Doctors' Strike: Medical Care and Conflicts in Saskatchewan (Toronto, ON: Macmillan Co., 1971) 53
13Robin F. Badgley and Samuel Wolfe, Doctors' Strike: Medical Care and Conflicts in Saskatchewan (Toronto, ON: Macmillan Co., 1971) 55
14Robin F. Badgley and Samuel Wolfe, Doctors' Strike: Medical Care and Conflict in Saskatchewan (Toronto, On: Macmillan Co., 1971) 68
15Frank Coburn, "No Brotherly Love for Pro-Medicare Doctors," Briarpatch 16.6 (1987):10
16 Jennifer Sass, "Curing Health Care," CBC News, CBC Corporation, 22 Feb. 2003 http://www.cbc.ca/news/indepth/healthcare/today's_pain.html
17 Shirley Douglas, "Health Care," Canadian Health Coalition, Saskatchewan Federation of Labour 45th Annual Convention, 2 November, 2000
18 Health Care Protection Act, Alberta's May, 2000 Private Hospital Law, http://www.augusta.ab.ca/rdx/eng/activism/bill11/htm
19 Jeff Huffman, "Klein Government Writes Contempt for Albertan's into Bill 11," Independent Reporter, April 2000, 22 Feb. 2003, http://indrep.nista.com/arc/2000/04/kleinbill11.html
20Minister vs. Medicare," editorial, Maclean's [Toronto] 3 Feb. 2003 A:1
21 Ryan Stutt, " Chretien Takes Wait and See Attitude on Bill 11," Independent Reporter, April 2000, 22 Feb. 2003, http://indrep.nista.com/arc/2000/04/chretien.html
22 Shirley Douglas, "Health Care," Canadian Health Coalition, Saskatchewan Federation of Labour 45th Annual Convention, 2 November, 2000
23 Tommy Douglas, The Future of Medicare, Canadian health Coalition, 1982 http://www.healthcoalition.ca/tommy.html
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