Tommy Douglas, Canada's father of Medicare, would import foreign doctors to make his plan work

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"My friends, watch out for the little fellow with an idea." - Tommy Douglas 1961

Tommy Douglas - for introducing free healthcare to Canada - was voted "The Greatest Canadian" of all time. He was hospitalized at the age of 10. Due to a bone infection suffered four years earlier, Douglas's knee required several operations. Without the money to pay for a specialist, Tommy Douglas’ parents were told that the only option was to amputate their son's leg before the infection spread to the rest of his body. But before that could happen, a visiting surgeon offered to operate on Douglas for free, as long as his students were allowed to attend. The surgery saved Douglas's leg - quite possibly his life - and would serve as his inspiration for his dream of universally accessible medical care.

Tommy Douglas is widely hailed as the father of Medicare. In the summer of 1962, Sas- katchewan became the center of a hard-fought struggle between the provincial govern- ment, the North American medical establishment, and the province's physicians, who brought things to a halt with the 1962 Saskatchewan Doctors' Strike. The doctors believed their best interests were not being met and feared a significant loss of income as well as government interference in medical care decisions even though Douglas agreed that his government would pay the going rate for service that doctors charged. The medical establishment claimed that Douglas would import foreign doctors to make his plan work.

Harper Undergoes Unnecessary Liver Transplant To Prove Commitment to Public Health Care

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper has had a completely unnecessary liver transplant in a Calgary hospital, apparently in an effort to demonstrate his confidence in the public health care system. The complex surgery is all the more baffling considering Harper's former liver was perfectly healthy, according to the doctor who performed the surgery over the weekend. "I advised against him going through with this, seeing that his old liver was in impeccable condition, but that Steve-O's such a charmer, I just couldn't say no," said Dr. Herman Garby, chief of organ surgery at Calgary's Preston Manning Memorial Hospital.

From his hospital bed, Harper explained that he went through with the surgery to prove to Canadians that he and his party truly believe in public health care. "Contrary to how the Liberals are trying to portray me, as someone who will usher in unfettered two-tier health care, in fact, I have the utmost confidence in the public system. That's why I had my liver removed and replaced, in the public, not-for-profit system. Can't you see my commitment? Can't you see my devotion? Look at these scars!" exclaimed a teary-eyed Harper, displaying a passion rarely seen from him.

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Original source, and photos courtesy of: CBC.ca, Wikipedia, and The Hammer