Burns Roth

Dr. Burns Roth began his medical practice in Whitehorse around 1940. Before this, Whitehorse and the southern Yukon had only one doctor. During the Second World War, Dr. Roth could call on the American army doctor resident in Whitehorse in cases of emergency and the army doctor performed more than one appendectomy on local residents. Dr. Roth and Audrey Ryder were married in 1945. Her parents owned Ryder Oats in Whitehorse and had a horse corral at Second Avenue and Lambert Street. Dr. Roth took a sabbatical in October 1946 and in 1948 the family moved to Saskatchewan where Burns Roth became the deputy minister of health.1)

In 1959, Dr. Burns Roth chaired an interdepartmental committee to study the feasibility of a universal medical care program. The committee contained some of the most brilliant civil servants of the era and they worked with Premier T.C. Douglas to introduce Medicare.2)

1)
Shelagh and Colin Beairsto, Yukon Historical and Museums Association, Submission to the City of Whitehorse, “Preservation of the Doctor’s House aka The Mast House,” 21 February 1998.
2)
“Interdepartmental Committee on Medicare, 1959.” The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan, University of Regina 2024 website: The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan | Details (uregina.ca)