Thomas Kunito Shoyama | |
|---|---|
 Thomas K. Shoyama | |
| Born | September 24, 1916 Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada |
| Died | December 22, 2006 (aged 90) Victoria, British Columbia, Canada |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Occupation | Public Servant |
Thomas Kunito Shoyama (September 24, 1916 – December 22, 2006) was a prominent Canadian public servant who was instrumental in designing social services in Canada, especially Medicare.
Shoyama was born in Kamloops, British Columbia, the son of a shop owner. He graduated from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 1939 with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a Bachelor of Commerce (with Honours) degree. Rejected for training as a chartered accountant, Shoyama was hired as a reporter for the Vancouver-based Japanese-Canadian newspaper The New Canadian, serving as editor from 1939 to 1945. [1]
The New Canadian was the sole Japanese-Canadian newspaper to be allowed to continue publishing after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. In 1942, Shoyama was forced to move the offices of the 8-page weekly to an internment camp in Kaslo. As editor, Shoyama was a spokesman for the rights of the Japanese Canadian community and an important community leader during the wartime evacuation and resettlement. [2] Shoyama continued to edit the newspaper until the spring of 1945 when he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Canadian Army's Intelligence Corps.
Shoyama left the military in 1946, taking a job in the Saskatchewan public service until 1964, first as a research economist, then as economic adviser to Premier Tommy Douglas and Premier Woodrow Lloyd, where he was one of the architects of the provincial medicare system.
Leaving the Saskatchewan public service shortly after the election of 1964, Shoyama became a Senior Research Economist with Economic Council of Canada. In 1968, he became Assistant Deputy Minister of Finance, and by 1975, after a term as Deputy Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources, was appointed Deputy Minister of Finance. During his final year in Ottawa, he served as Adviser to the Privy Council on the Constitution, and as Chairman of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited.
Retiring from the public service in 1979, Shoyama moved to Victoria, British Columbia and joined the School of Public Administration and the Department of Pacific and Asian Studies at the University of Victoria.
Shoyama was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1978. In 1979, Mr. Shoyama was honoured with the Outstanding Achievement Award of the Public Service of Canada. The citation read, in part, “His strength of character, inexhaustible energy and absolute dedication to Canadian interests … brought him national and international recognition as an outstanding public servant of his country.”. [3] In 1982, he received the Vanier Medal from the Institute of Public Administration of Canada in 1982. [4] In 1992, the government of Japan awarded him the Order of the Sacred Treasure (gold and silver star) in recognition of his contributions to the Japanese Canadian community.
In 2007, the Department of Finance created the Thomas K. Shoyama Award to recognize outstanding achievement by a Finance employee. [5] The Department also established the Thomas Shoyama Annual Public Policy Lecture, which invites internationally recognized experts to speak on innovative ideas in public policy analysis. [6]
In June 2007, the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy (JSGS) was established jointly between the University of Regina and the University of Saskatchewan. It was named in honour of Shoyama and Albert Wesley Johnson.
There is a Thomas K. Shoyama fonds at Library and Archives Canada. [7] The archival reference number is R10881. [8]
Medicare is an unofficial designation used to refer to the publicly funded single-payer healthcare system of Canada. Canada's health care system consists of 13 provincial and territorial health insurance plans, which provide universal healthcare coverage to Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and depending on the province or territory, certain temporary residents. The systems are individually administered on a provincial or territorial basis, within guidelines set by the federal government. The formal terminology for the insurance system is provided by the Canada Health Act and the health insurance legislation of the individual provinces and territories.
Thomas Clement Douglas was a Scottish-born Canadian politician who served as seventh premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961 and Leader of the New Democratic Party from 1961 to 1971. A Baptist minister, he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in 1935 as a member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). He left federal politics to become Leader of the Saskatchewan Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and then the seventh Premier of Saskatchewan. His government introduced the continent's first single-payer, universal health care program.
Georges-Philias Vanier was a Canadian military officer and diplomat who served as Governor General of Canada, the first Quebecer and second Canadian-born person to hold the position.
Mitchell William Sharp was a Canadian politician and a Companion of the Order of Canada, most noted for his service as a Liberal Cabinet minister. He did, however, serve in both private and public sectors during his long career.
(Robert) Gordon Robertson, was the commissioner of the Northwest Territories from November 15, 1953 to July 12, 1963 who, having been sworn in at the age of 36, remains the youngest person to ever hold the office. He went on to become Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet, the top position in the Canadian public service.
Robert Broughton Bryce,, was a Canadian civil servant.
Gordon Francis Joseph Osbaldeston, was a Canadian civil servant.
Albert Wesley "Al" Johnson was a Canadian civil servant, former president of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, professor in the department of political science at the University of Toronto, and author.
Huguette Labelle is a Canadian retired civil servant and former Chancellor of the University of Ottawa, serving from 1994 until 2012. She has been the chair of the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments since 2016.
The School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University (SIPA) is the international affairs and public policy school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university located in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, New York City.
Crown corporations in Canada are government organizations with a mixture of commercial and public-policy objectives. They are directly and wholly owned by the Crown.
Thomas John Bentley, DCM was a Canadian politician, agrologist, farmer and organizer.
The New Democratic Party is a social democratic federal political party in Canada. The party was founded in 1961 by the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). On the political spectrum, the party sits to the left of the Liberal Party.
Wayne G. Wouters, is a Canadian former public servant and past Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet. He retired as Clerk on October 3, 2014, and was replaced by Janice Charette.
Warren Steinley is a Canadian politician, who was elected Member of Parliament for the riding of Regina—Lewvan in the 2019 Canadian federal election. He represents the riding of Regina—Lewvan in the House of Commons as a Member of the Conservative Party.
Douglas Francis "Doug" McArthur is an educator and former political figure in Saskatchewan, Canada. He represented Regina Lakeview from 1978 to 1982 in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan as a New Democratic Party (NDP) member.
Rose Marie Louise Simard, is a lawyer, executive, and former politician in Saskatchewan, Canada. She represented Regina Lakeview (1986–91) and Regina Hillsdale (1991–95) in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan as a New Democratic Party (NDP) member.
The Hospital Insurance and Diagnostic Services Act (HIDS) is a statute passed by the Parliament of Canada in 1957 that reimbursed one-half of provincial and territorial costs for hospital and diagnostic services administered under provincial and territorial health insurance programs. Originally implemented on July 1, 1958, with five participating provinces, by January 1, 1961, all ten provinces were enlisted. The federal funding was coupled with terms and conditions borrowed from the Saskatchewan Hospital Services Plan, introduced in 1947 as the first universal hospital insurance program in North America. In order to receive funding, services had to be universal, comprehensive, accessible and portable. This stipulation was dropped in 1977 with the Established Programs Financing Act and then reinstated in 1984 in the Canada Health Act. Widely acknowledged as the foundation for future developments in the Canadian health care system, the HIDS Act was a landmark example of federal-provincial cooperation in post-war Canada.
The Canada West Foundation is a non-partisan think tank based in Calgary, Alberta. It primarily conducts research on issues of concern in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, but also on issues of national significance.
Meara Conway ; is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan in the 2020 Saskatchewan general election. She represents the electoral district of Regina Elphinstone-Centre as a member of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)