On behalf of Heather Smith, UNA Vice President Bev Dick accepts the Spirit of Tommy Douglas Award from Tommy's daughter, Shirley Douglas. |
To open the national SOS Medicare conference, Tommy Douglas' daughter, Shirley Douglas announced she was presenting four special
"Spirit of Tommy Douglas Awards". UNA President Heather Smith was one of the recipients, along with Roy Romanow, Dr. Arnold Relman (Harvard University Professor Emeritus) and Canadian Health Coaltion founder Jim MacDonald. |
 Linda Silas, Monique Begin, Shirley Douglas and Kathleen Connors pose in front of the screen. Linda Silas is President of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions and Kathleen Connors, the past-President of
CFNU is now the national chairperson of the Canadian Health Coalition. |
The conference brought together an amazing array of leading health care thinkers and activists, including this panel (l to r) Bruce
Campbell, (Canadian Centre of Policy Alternatives, one of the conference organizers), Greg Marchildon (Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Regina, another of the conference organizers) Colleen Flood, (Faculty at the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto, also a conference organizing body), Allan Blakeney, (former Premier of Saskatchewan) and Monique Begin, (former federal Health Minister who brought in the Canada Health Act in 1984). |
 UNA's delegation of nearly 40 nurses stood out at the conference wearing their brown Tommy Douglas T-shirts. |
Over 650 people from across Canada came to Regina for the historic conference. Tommy Douglas himself spoke at the first SOS Medicare |
Edmonton activist Verna Milligan with her usual flare for comment was quick to get to the mike to ask a question, and make her comment. |
Stephen Lewis, who was the UN Envoy for HIV Aids in Africa from 2001-2006, spoke with his renowned passion and connected that topic with the essential justice of a public health care system in
Canada. |
Carolyn Bennett, MP, said health care must expand to include the "determinants of health" questions of poverty and housing. "We want a strong fence at the top of the cliff, not an
ambulance service at the bottom," she said. |
Monique Begin was the federal Minister of Health who brought in the Canada Health Act. Begin talked about the Population Health Initiative and said there is a "need for going upstream" to affect the
determinants of health. |
Cathy Crowe is a nationally known street nurse from Toronto who said affordable housing must be on the priority list for improving the health of Canadians. |
 UBC economist Bob Evans greatly enlivened his presentation much to the delight of his friend, University of Regina economist Jack Boan. Evans' numbers made it clear medicare is affordable, and costs are NOT rising. In fact, public health care service
in Canada costs are relatively stable, certainly compared to the skyrocketing prices for drugs and other private health services. |
