Our City: “Keep Our Doctors” Committee Rally - Regina Legislative Building July 11th, 1962
Keep Our Doctors Strike, July 11th 1962, In front of Regina Legislative Building. (Medicare-canada-saskatchewan-doctor-strike).
Saskatchewan is the birthplace of Medicare in Canada. The need for free health care for all has its roots in rural communities within Saskatchewan, and the economic hardships of the 1930s Great Depression. The CCF, Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, (the forerunner to the NDP) was formed in Saskatchewan in 1933 and its members were a coalition of farmers, co-op groups, and socialists. One of the original goals of the platform was free healthcare for everyone.
In 1959, Premier Tommy C. Douglas shares his plans “to provide medical care insurance, based on pre-payment, universal coverage, quality service, and government administration, and through a scheme acceptable to both doctors and patients.”
Saskatchewan doctors were not on board, the fear was the bill would interfere with their doctor-patient relationship and would leave doctors susceptible to government interference. Also, coming out of the Great Depression doctors felt Medicare was not needed as more people became financially secure again.
July 1st, 1962 the Medicare bill was passed in Saskatchewan, it was not received well by doctors, and 90% of Saskatchewan's doctors closed their practices in protest. The citizens of Regina were concerned about the availability of healthcare as doctors continued to leave Regina in protest of Medicare. Keep Our Doctors committees were created as a response to the doctors striking.
Their rhetoric was extreme and also racist as they rallied against foreign doctors coming to Saskatchewan. In a documentary by the Nation Film Board of Canada on the fight for Medicare in Saskatchewan, there is footage included of protestors wearing hooked noses and stereotypical oriental garb. July 11, 1962 - Keep Our Doctors Committee Rally at Regina legislative building, to force the repeal of Medicare, but this would be the peak of their counter-movement. The turnout was projected to be around 30,000, but police had estimated around 5,000 protesters that came. People in support of Medicare wanted to rally in Regina, but Premier Lloyd advised against it, with tensions so high. The Saskatchewan government was not ready to give in and was determined to reach an agreement.
It would be Lord Steven Taylor, a physician credited to be behind the British National Health Service who ended up having to come to Saskatchewan at Premier Lloyd’s request and was able to settle with the government of Saskatchewan and the College of Physicians and Surgeons.