Bringing to the end a series of shows over the last few months on the CBC (Canuckistan Broadcasting Corporation) television network, viewers of the show overwhelming chose Mr. Tommy Douglas, from the small (and getting smaller!) province of Saskatchewan as The Greatest Kanuckistani (ever).
For those joining us soon (particularly those blue states soon to be folded into El Nuevo Canada), Tommy Douglas is the fellow who introduced socialized medicine, the precursor to Medicare, whereby all Kanuckistanis--the young, the old, the poor, and yes, that really, really, really fat old lady with the swollen ankles larger than a telephone pole--can access to the medical treatment they need--as much as they need!--at no cost.
Half a century later, the contributions of Mr. Douglas continue to ring loud with all Kanuckistanis (and government budgets where Medicare is the largest and fastest growing cost). Concretely speaking, his efforts to reform health care in the country ensure that today all Kanuckistanis have EQUAL access to 20 and 30-year old technology and procedures (while ensuring that members of the nomenklatura (the politicians, the oligarchs) are free to jump the queue). Kanuckistanis are unanimous in crying out, "If we can't have CAT scanners and MRI machines for ALL of our hospitals, we don't want ANY of them to have them either."
The arrival of those former American blue states into the fold should prove beneficial for both. For the 15% of Americans without healthcare, they will now be able to enjoy the best of Kanuckistani medical technology of the 1960s and 1970s, while provinces like Quebec continue to be able to send cancer patients to (new) provinces like Vermont for treatment, but pay in cheaper Kanuckistani dollars! Imagine the savings!
Thank you, Tommy Douglas, for helping to make Kanuckistan the great place it is today!