It's TOMMY DOUGLAS DAY in Saskatchewan!

"Born on October 20, 1904, Tommy Douglas grew up in Saskatchewan and, as a clergyman schooled in the social gospel, realized that he could do more to help the unemployed, the poor and the sick if he became a politician.

In 1935 he was elected federally under the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). By the end of the 1930s, the depression and World War II had created an opening of popular support towards the CCF and its progressive ideas. Canada had financed its participation in the war but wouldn't apparently fight against poverty. "Surely ", said Douglas, "if we can produce such abundance in order to destroy our enemies, we can produce equal abundance to provide food, clothing and shelter for our children."

In 1944, the CCF under Douglas won the Saskatchewan election to become the first social democratic government in North America. The CCF election slogan was "Humanity First" and 70% of this government's first budget was spent on health, welfare and education.

Subsequently, the Douglas government paid off the provincial debt, created a province wide hospitalization plan, paved the roads and provided electric power to unserviced rural areas.

In 1961, the NDP (New Democratic Party) was created with Douglas as leader. His top priority project was the development of Medicare. Douglas with some difficulty was able to overcome the opposition of physicians and implemented a government health care system that was universal, pre-paid, publicly administered and provided high quality care including measures for prevention - the first in Canada and North America. [DON'S NOTE: Douglas had returned to federal politics and Woodrow Lloyd was the NDP premier when many Saskatchewan doctors went on strike in 1962 to oppose the introduction of Medicare.]

Encouraged by the widespread support for Saskatchewan's Medicare experience, the Federal Liberal government began to study the possibility of creating such a plan for all Canadian Citizens. In 1964, the report from the Royal Commission on Health Services recommended a joint Federal/Provincial system that would cover the cost of preventative health care and hospitalization for all Canadians."