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On This Day in Canada’s Political History: Medicare Bill Tabled; Phil Fontaine Elected to Third Term as AFN's National Chief

  • Arthur Milnes

  • July 12, 2021

Today is indeed a great day for all Canadians to recall with gratitude. Building on the cross-partisan work of Tommy Douglas, John Diefenbaker and Louis St. Laurent, Lester Pearson’s Liberals introduced Medicare in the Commons on this date. On that historic day, it was Health Minister Allan J. MacEachen who spoke for the government about what would become the most significant social program in Canadian history:

“The government of Canada believes that all Canadians should be able to obtain health services of high quality according to their need for such services and irrespective of their ability to pay...We believe that the only practical and effective way of doing this is through a universal, prepaid, government-sponsored scheme.”

Canadians have been thanking the Pearson government for Medicare ever since. In another significant moment on this date, in 2006 Phil Fontaine was elected for a third time as National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations.  This historic accomplishment is even more remarkable given that National Chief Fontaine had survived the horrors of Canadian residential schools. First elected as the AFN's National Chief in 1997, Phil Fontaine served until 2000. He was then re-elected to his leadership post in 2003, and again in 2006, serving until 2009. National Chief Fontaine will always be remembered for negotiating, along with then Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.  The Agreement led to the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and paved the way for PM Harper’s historic apology for residential schools on behalf of Canadians. Canadians are forever in the debt of Mr. Fontaine for helping guide our nation towards reconciliation and justice. caption id="attachment_571642" align="aligncenter" width="261" Former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Phil Fontaine/caption Arthur Milnes is an accomplished public historian and award-winning journalist.  He was research assistant on The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney’s best-selling Memoirs and also served as a speechwriter to then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and as a Fellow of the Queen’s Centre for the Study of Democracy under the leadership of Tom Axworthy.  A resident of Kingston, Ontario, Milnes serves as the in-house historian at the 175 year-old Frontenac Club Hotel.

Arthur Milnes is an accomplished public historian and award-winning journalist. He was research assistant on The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney’s best-selling Memoirs and also served as a speechwriter to then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and as a Fellow of the Queen’s Centre for the Study of Democracy under the leadership of Tom Axworthy. A resident of Kingston, Ontario, Milnes serves as the in-house historian at the 175 year-old Frontenac Club Hotel.