In 2004, the CBC held a nation-wide television contest to choose Canada's “Greatest Canadian.” The top choice of viewers from every part of the land was former Saskatchewan NDP Premier Tommy Douglas, the man who would go down in history as the Father if Medicare.Saskatchewan's 1962 medicare act became Canadians' most treasured national social program. It arose from the strong social justice ethic of Prairie populism: that rich and poor alike should not have to lose their farms and homes to pay for drugs and hospital care.Following Douglas' lead, Liberal Prime Minister Lester Pearson introduced the Medical Care Act in 1966 which set out the five principles of medicare:Medicare was to be comprehensive and cover all necessary physician and hospital services.Medicare was to be portable, ensuring all services are available to all citizens.Medicare was to be universal, covering every citizen across the country.Medicare was to be accessible and available to every Canadian, giving citizens access to all covered health care services under uniform terms and conditions regardless of ability to pay. Medicare was to be publicly administered, making the government the single payer for all services. But medicare was no sooner made the law of the land by federal Liberal Health Minister Monique Begin in 1984 than trouble arose. That year, responding to an avalanche of direct charges by physicians to patients, called “extra billing,” the Liberal government brought in the Canada Health Act, 1984. It allowed the federal government to deduct one dollar from federal transfers to any province or territory for every dollar of patient charges, effectively ending user fees by physicians and hospitals.In 1995, the Liberal government of Jean Chretien created the Canada Health and Social Transfer, replacing the old Established Programs Funding Program and the Canada Assistance Plan. It streamlined services, but it also reduced total spending on health care and social programs, leading to longer wait times and a period of reduced services. The provinces delisted some coverage such as eye care.In 2004, Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin signed a 10-year health accord with the provinces. The goal of his agreement was to “fix” health care “for a generation.” The accord covered 10 areas:
- reduced wait times and improved access
- strategic Health and Human Resources action plans such as home care, primary care reform (including electronic health records and telehealth) and access to care in the North
- national pharmaceuticals strategy
- prevention, promotion and public health
- health innovation, accountability and reporting to citizens
- dispute avoidance and resolution