Agency - English program:.Pacific Centre. Agency:.Co-produced by the NFB and the CBC.

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 ; music, Jean Piché.

Narrator, Ann Petrie.

Recorded 1983.

Part one of a two-part documentary examining Canada's national health insurance system from its conception on the Canadian Prairies in the early part of the 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 Canadian history through film and television archives and personal testimonies, particularly those of former Saskatchewan Premier Tommy Douglas and Chief Justice Emmett Hall.

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Description based on online resource; title from title screen (National Film Board of Canada, viewed 2023-08-10).