In October 1961, the then premier of Saskatchewan, T.C "Tommy" Douglas, introduced The Saskatchewan Medical Care Insurance Bill to the provincial legislature. It would be given royal assent later that year in November, and would also prove to be the most influential and historic bill of his career, going on to improve (or save) the life of every Canadian to come.

The positive effects of universal heath care on Canada cannot be questioned or understated. It is among the greatest contributing factors to Canada's status as one of the happiest and most prosperous nations in the world. Everyday it saves a family from being evicted, by lifting the weight of medical bills off their backs. Everyday it reduces crime in major cities, because fathers don't have to rob a corner store to afford their daughter's surgery. And everyday it saves the life newborn child of a low income family, because they don't have to decide between paying for surgery and being homeless.

Aside from his monumental achievements, Tommy Douglas was also an incredible man. He never smoked or drank, and his children and grandchildren remember him as nothing but a kind and generous man. He was caring to a fault, once missing a day of campaigning to visit a stranger in a mental hospital. He was among the only members of parliament to oppose the implication of the War Measures act in 1970. In 2004 he was voted the the greatest Canadian, winning over other candidates such as Terry fox and Pierre Trudeau.

In the era of Covid-19 we must cherish and support our system more than ever before, but many governments across our country have been attempting to hinder public access and privatize areas of our healthcare for years. Just last October the United Conservative Party of Alberta voted to pass policy 11, a bill that opens the floodgates of private healthcare in Alberta. If we have a portrait of Tommy Douglas in every hospital in this nation, it will show our governments that Canadians are firm in their support for social democracy.