The Greatest Canadian

[Naturyl]

Tommy Douglas was voted the greatest citizen of our neighbor to the north. He is the father of Canadian universal health care, a program so popular and successful that not even Canada's conservative party opposes it.

His family's socialist leanings were solidified after Douglas was hospitalized at the age of 10. Due to a bone infection suffered four years earlier, Douglas's knee required several operations - none of which were successful.

Without the money to pay for a specialist, his 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.

After nine years in the House of Commons polishing his fiery public-speaking talent, Douglas was elected the leader of the provincial CCF in Saskatchewan. With interest in socialism peaking in post-war Canada, the party won a landslide victory in 1944 and Douglas found himself an instant celebrity as the head of North America's first-ever socialist government.

Amid widespread skepticism, Premier Douglas mobilized aggressively, passing more than 100 bills during his first term. He introduced paved roads, sewage systems and power to most farmers and managed to reduce the provincial debt by $20 million. Over the next 18 years he weathered Communist fear campaigns and a province-wide doctor's strike. Elected to five terms, he introduced Saskatchewan residents to car insurance, labour reforms and his long-standing dream of universal Medicare.

http://www.cbc.ca/greatest/top_ten/nominee/douglas-tommy.html

[JBoy]

1. Tommy Douglas is legendary.

Little bit of trivia - His daughter married actor Donald Sutherland, so Kiefer Sutherland is Tommy Douglas' grandson.

[Naturyl]

2. Wow, I did not know that.

I've always liked Donald Sutherland. Kiefer is alright, too.

[chollybocker]

8. Shirley Douglas is one of Canada's greatest actors.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Douglas

I had the pleasure of meeting her and her son, Keifer, backstage after a performance of T. Williams' The Glass Menagerie in Ottawa. Two of the smartest 'show-people' I've ever met.

[enigmatic]

3. Tommy Douglas is one of my heroes

I never knew of him until I came up here to live, but now that I'm going to become a citizen I wish I could have voted for him.

The Mouseland" speech is legendary:

http://recluseshow.blogspot.com/2007/03/mouseland-tommy-douglas.html

[Naturyl]

4. Wow, that speech is great.

Thanks for that. :)

[enigmatic]

5. "You can lock up a man, but you can't lock up an idea"

Words to live by:thumbsup:

[Spazito]

6. The fact that Tommy Douglas topped the list of the 10 'finalists' is

a testament, imo, to how VERY IMPORTANT our healthcare system is to Canadians. Here is the top ten list in order of placement after the 'polls closed':

1. Tommy Douglas (father of Medicare, Premier of Saskatchewan)
2. Terry Fox (athlete, activist, humanitarian)
3. Pierre Trudeau (Prime Minister)
4. Sir Frederick Banting (medical scientist, co-discoverer of insulin)
5. David Suzuki (geneticist, environmentalist, broadcaster, activist)
6. Lester Bowles Pearson (Prime Minister, former United Nations General Assembly President, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate)
7. Don Cherry (hockey coach, commentator)
8. Sir John A. Macdonald (First post-Confederation Prime Minister)
9. Alexander Graham Bell (Scottish-born scientist, inventor, founder of the Bell Telephone Company, which later became the American
Telephone and Telegraph Company)
10. Wayne Gretzky (hockey player)

With the exception (in my opinion anyway) of the inclusion of Don Cherry in the top ten, the finalists were distinguished in their own right as opposed to popular television/movie people, etc.

[Danmel]

7. Tommy Douglas is the author of one of my favorite quotes

"Man can now fly in the air like a bird, swim under the ocean like a fish, he can burrow into the ground like a mole. Now, if only he could walk the earth like a man, this would be paradise." Tommy Douglas- The "Greatest" Canadian.


Wonder if they polled Americans, who would be the greatest?

[L0oniX]

9. Been there ...done that

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/L0oniX

http://heritage.scotsman.com/scotsincanada/Tommy-Douglas-Hero-of-the.2662661.jp

[rurallib]

10. Always happy to rec a thread on Tommy Douglas

And here for you pleasure is his story of Mouseland
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWKsR0gugww

[Grey]

11. I love that movie.

[ColbertWatcher]

12. Ditto. America needs a Tommy Douglas. n/t

[depakid]

14. The cats will never let that happen...

[ColbertWatcher]

15. We just have to do to profiting from suffering what MADD did to drunk driving.

For me, the most powerful scene in SiCKO was when the Canadian boy who blew off both his hands playing with firecrackers was told that an American man had to pick which finger to re-attach.

His look said everything.

[bobbolink]

13. Could you post that in the videos, so I'll be sure to see it when I have the time ?

Thanks so much!

[rurallib]

18. sorry - don't know how.

[bobbolink]

19. Thanks.... I found that it had already been posted there.

[Canuckistanian]

16. I already knew he had introduced universal health care

But when the TV show "The Greatest Canadian" showed the loooong list of things he had achieved, I was in awe.

Some things he did:
-Allowed unionization of the governemnt public service
-The first government run non-profit car insurance in Saskatchewan (still running today)
-Created the first-ever budget surplus in Saskatchewan history
-Created many successful Crown Corporations (govt. run businesses)
-Intitutionalized holidays and minimum wages
-The first "Bill of Rights" in Canadian history, far in advance of our own "Charter of Rights and Freedoms"

And there were many more.

Truly a hero to Canadians and the way of life we know now.

[Canuckistanian]

17. dupe..

[slipslidingaway]

20. knr nt

[Vidar]

21. I love Canada.

[redqueen]

22. K&R