Brandon Chong
CHC2D-1
Mr. Storey
February 25, 2014
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Canada, a nation that stretches from sea to sea with rich natural resources, economic stability, and persisting technological developments, a prosperous nation fabricated by great leaders, one of them being Lester B.Pearson. He was a Canadian professor, historian, civil servant, statesman, diplomat, and politician who won a Nobel Prize for Peace in 1957 for resolving the Suez Canal crisis.1 He served as the 14th Prime Minister of Canada, in which his liberal minority government “left Canadians with a legacy of peacekeeping, humanitarianism and a strong sense of international responsibility that lives on to this day.”2 His introduction of the
Royal …show more content…
For five years in office, Pearson implemented programs long discussed, but never adopted. Among them included, but is not limited to Medical care, pensions, education, and a generalized “war on poverty”. The Medicare act expanded the policy of the Hospital Insurance and Diagnostic Services Act to universal health care. Under the terms of this act, all “insured persons” are entitled to receive “insured services” without copayment in which Ottawa would pay for 50% of provincial health costs.4 Prior to this point, doctors could charge what they wanted and bankruptcy to pay for health care was common. Lester B. Pearson’s contributions
1
The Nobel Foundation , Nobelprize. Last modified 2013. Accessed February 21, 2014. http:// www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1957/pearson-bio.html. 2
Leung , John. Lester B. Pearson, the Greatest Canadian. Gautlet, , sec. Opinions, November 11, …show more content…
Last modified December 9, 2012.
Accessed February 22, 2014. http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hcs-sss/medi-assur/index-eng.php.
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towards social welfare in Canada is not limited to Medicare, but he also introduced the Canadian
Pension Plan and Student loans during his time as Prime Minister. The Canadian Pension Plan is a social insurance program that provides pensions and benefits when contributors retire, become disabled, or die. When it was first established, contribution rates were set at 1.8% of an employee’s gross income per year, with a maximum contribution limit.5 Pearson also introduced student loans which allow easily accessible loans for post-secondary students who demonstrates financial need; it is a quick way of obtaining money. Without this type of credit, there would be fewer resources available to students or their families. Access to education for individuals can potentially end their family roots of poverty as education enables a greater opportunity for higher salaries and career opportunities. Lester B. Pearson has ultimately helped to improve the lives of
Canadians because he introduced Medicare, the Canadian Pension Plan, and Student loans