50th Anniversary of Medicare Crisis - Documentary

CBC
The Current
Monday, July 23, 2012

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On the 50th anniversary of the introduction of medicare, a documentary look at the battle that nearly kept it from happening. We hear from two families from different sides of the dispute look back on the Medicare fight in Saskatchewan, they feel it's shaped the way healthcare is delivered today.

50th Anniversary of Medicare Crisis - Documentary

In the summer of 1962, the Saskatchewan Doctor's Strike brought a bitter fight over medicare to a head. The labour dispute was triggered on July 1st, when Canada's first universal health care plan, the Saskatchewan Medical Care Insurance Act, took effect. Doctors walked off the job and stayed off for more than three weeks.

Patients panicked, worried about who would care for them in an emergency. And the provincial government stood its ground, determined to make the new law stick. For three weeks that stand-off produced protests, fear ... even threats of violence. It wasn't settled until a deal called the Saskatoon Agreement was signed 50 years ago today.

Today, we're looking back on that dispute to find out how it has shaped the health care we know today. The CBC's Sean Prpick tells the story through the eyes of two families who were on opposite sides of the issue. Sean's documentary is called Days of Decision.

Dr. Noel Doig has just published a new memoir of Sasakatchewan's medicare crisis. It's called Setting The Record Straight.