About
Most people know that in 1962 Saskatchewan became the "birthplace of Medicare" and that the rest of Canada soon followed. But few people today remember the political fight that the people of the province and its doctors waged in opposition to their government's Plan. In Setting the Record Straight, the events of that year are recalled vividly by one who not only witnessed it, but was also an active participant in it. In the 50th anniversary year of Saskatchewan's Medical Care Insurance Act, long time Saskatoon physician Dr. Noel Doig presents for the first time what the introduction of Medicare meant from the perspective of the doctors and patients of Saskatchewan at the time. With rich storytelling detail, and punctuated by 22 witty political cartoons by the late Saskatoon StarPhoenix/Regina Leader-Post artist Ed Sebestyen, Doig recounts in dramatic fashion the story of how, from the doctors' viewpoint, politics trumped principle.