Tommy Douglas, George Bush

There is a show that has been running on CBC for a couple of months now, a contest of sorts, to determine who is the greatest Canadian, a thing which was to be decided by vote at the end of the show's run. The man they ended up voting for was (a) Kiefer Sutherland's grandfather, (b) the man who invented universal health care (Medicare), and (c) my grandfather's best friend.

Tommy Douglas was a United Church minister who believed that society should embody the gospel - visiting the poor in prison, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, as though they were all Jesus himself. He rose to prominence in the CCF movement founded by J.S. Woodworth, and became premier of my birth province, Saskatchewan, where he introduced Medicare, which doctors support today, but fought tooth and nail against then. He later became leader of the New Democratic Party. He and his wife Irma remained close to my grandparents all their lives.

My Dad took me to visit Mr. & Mrs. Douglas at their apartment in Ottawa when I was little. I remember him giving me all kinds of brochures about parliament, and explaining to me how it worked.

A very different kind of politician is visiting Ottawa today - President George W Bush. It seems sometimes as though our two sister countries are growing apart, as few Canadians agree with Mr. Bush's economic or international policies. Still, I hope he is given a warm welcome, and that the protests are few or muted. Many Americans will take protests against Mr. Bush as a protest against America itself. With America so alone in the world right now, she needs some assurance that her friends are still her friends. And Canada is still that - the other America, where we share the love of wide open spaces, freedom, and the dream of making the world a better place. In a sense, that is what Tommy Douglas worked all his life for.