The Federal Government and the provinces were criticized by the daughter of Tommy Douglas, the father of Canadian medicare, earlier this week .

Tommy Douglas was the Premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1960. In 1959 his government was the first in Canada to introduce medicare. Before medicare sick people had to pay to see a doctor or stay in the hospital. Medicare meant that people who were sick did not have to pay. Hospitals were paid for by taxes .

On Wednesday, Canada's 11 Premiers met in Quebec City, Quebec to talk about the future of medicare. They got an earful from Shirley Douglas.

Douglas says that while more money is needed for the health care system, the problems can't be solved by a group of men in a room. She says there has been a lack of planning.

Douglas says if her father was alive and had anything to do with the health care system, it wouldn't be in the mess it's in today.

She also said that she'll fight any effort by Alberta Premier Ralph Klein to open private, user-pay hospitals in the province.

"This is going to be the fight of my year, and maybe many years, to make sure Ralph Klein does not open a private hospital," says Douglas.

Klein says he refused to attend Douglas' presentation because a trade union in Alberta has been running an ad campaign that he says makes him look ``something a little bit worse than the devil.''

Quebec Premier Bouchard defended his decision to invite Douglas to talk to the Premiers . He says he mentioned during coffee with Saskatchewan Premier Roy Romanow on Tuesday night that he had been moved by a recent CBC-TV profile on Tommy and Shirley Douglas.

Romanow told Bouchard that Douglas was in town. So Bouchard decided to invite Douglas for ``coffee and a nice talk'' before the official start to the meeting.

"We had a very courteous exchange," said Bouchard. "It was OK."

Following the brief meeting, a health care coalition launched a publicity campaign to support medicare.

Ambulances covered in American flags and visas were to begin making their way on Thursday from Newfoundland, British Columbia and Quebec to the "scene of the emergency" - Alberta.

"We are all committed to protect and promote and conserve this great heritage we share all over Canada," Bouchard said. "If there is a common thing in Canada it is this great system."

2. Before medicare who had to pay to see a doctor or stay in the hospital?