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Bitter Medicine, Part One: The Birth of Medicare

1983 27 min
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Part one of a 2-part documentary examining Canada's national health insurance system, from its conception on the Canadian Prairies in the early part of the 20th century to its present state of crisis. This first part traces the events leading to July 2, 1962, the day on which Medicare was launched in Saskatchewan. The doctors reacted to the plan by declaring a general strike. The film recreates this stormy chapter of history through film and television archives and personal testimonies, particularly those of former Saskatchewan premier Tommy Douglas and Chief Justice Emmett Hall.

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Bitter Medicine, Part One: The Birth of Medicare

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Part one of a 2-part documentary examining Canada's national health insurance system, from its conception on the Canadian Prairies in the early part of the 20th century to its present state of crisis. This first part traces the events leading to July 2, 1962, the day on which Medicare was launched in Saskatchewan. The doctors reacted to the plan by declaring a general strike. The film recreates this stormy chapter of history through film and television archives and personal testimonies, particularly those of former Saskatchewan premier Tommy Douglas and Chief Justice Emmett Hall.
  • director
    Tom Shandel
  • script
    Tom Shandel
  • producer
    George Johnson
    Tom Shandel
  • executive producer
    John Taylor
  • associate producer
    Penny Gurstein
  • photography
    Kirk Tougas
  • sound
    Ray Misskey
    Mike Oldfield
    Norm Rosen
  • editing
    Barbara Evans
  • re-recording
    Paul Sharpe
  • narrator
    Ann Petrie
  • music
    Jean Piché

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Bitter Medicine, Part One: The Birth of Medicare
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