Medical culture and health politics: the Ontario debate

The 1986 doctors' strike in Ontario brought into stark relief many of the issues that have been latent in Canadian health politics for several decades. In this paper, an analysis from a sociological perspective is offered of the issues involved in the 1986 doctors' strike. Issues are discussed in light of the history of medicare in Canada, the social structure of medicine and its practice in Canada and the political centrality of access to health care as a right. Throughout the paper, health care is defined as a central social concern, basic to environmental health and well-being.