What Are Tommy Douglass Contributions To Canada

“Courage, my friends; ’tis not too late to build a better world.”-Tommy Douglas or better known as the Father of Medicare. Douglas won “The Greatest Canadian of all Time” on April 5th, 2004. This man has certainly brought many benefits to all Canadians. Universal Healthcare started with a belief that every Canadian deserves free healthcare regardless of their economic or social status. Not only universal healthcare, Tommy Douglas has also introduced paved roads, sewage systems and more power to farmers. During his years as a politician, he served in the Saskatchewan Labour Party in 1932 (SLP), CCF MP in 1935, leader of the CCF in 1944 and then later became the Premier of Saskatchewan. Out of his many contributions to Canada, undoubtedly the

Some of his major innovations were free healthcare for pensioners, free psychiatric hospital treatment for the mentally ill, which included constructions mental health clinics, free cancer treatment for people in need and air ambulance to transport those in rural areas to central or regional hospitals. In 1947, Douglas introduced the Universal Hospital Services Plan, which was a hospital insurance program. It expanded hospital facilities; 21 new hospitals were built over 4 years. It improved X-ray and lab services. *more to write*. In 1961, he created Saskatchewan Medical Care Insurance Act. It was a payment to private insurance. The cost was $12 per person every year and $24 per family every year. He promised that all of Saskatchewan would collectively pay for those who were

He contributed greatly to the education, economy, labour, social welfare, Child Welfare Act, agriculture and industrial development of Saskatchewan. Under Tommy Douglas, the government re-organized public school system to enhance quality of education. The reforms made the Department of Education included establishing larger school units, higher wages for the teachers with a new salary structure, reworking of the high school curriculum, a new system of school grants and also an increased education budget. Not only that, the CCF government increased access to university or college level education by providing funding grants to universities and colleges and also the government offered entrance scholarship for graduating secondary student. As for labour, many rights were created for workers that now take for granted. For example: The Workers Compensation Board improved benefits and removed waiting period for people who qualified. The Douglas government also created The Trade Union Act, which was revolutionary in Canada and it guaranteed workers the right to organize and bargain collectively. On top of that, Douglas increased the minimum wage, made the 44 hour work week mandatory and made the employers obligated to give their employees a 2-week vacation with pay every year. The Social Welfare Department was created during the early years of Douglas’ government.