Mr. Speaker, many seniors with us today may recall it was 40 years ago that doctors, backed by the Canadian and American medical associations, fought bitterly to stop the introduction of medicare in Saskatchewan. There were threats to the premier's children. His home was vandalized. A leading cleric declared that if the government did not abandon medicare there would be blood in the streets.
Amidst this maelstrom, on May 3, 1962, Premier Woodrow Lloyd spoke to 600 doctors of the Saskatchewan Medical Association, truly the shock troops in the war against medicare. He entered the hall in Regina amid booing, spitting and hissing. Few present were converted but many grasped the depth of his determination. The premier would not back down. Medicare would be implemented.
His act was one of unsurpassed courage, and today's generation that takes medicare for granted should remember Premier Woodrow Lloyd.