Dave Barrett, the first BC NDP Premier, was the founder of the Tommy Douglas Research Institute. Along with former NDP Federal Secretary Gerry Caplan and Federal NDP Research Director, Marc Eliesen, Dave was alarmed at the growing influence of right wing “think tanks”. The new Institute was their attempt to provide a new and progressive voice, honouring the great tradition of Tommy Douglas as a policy pioneer. The Institute is a registered charity, operates in a virtual manner and is based in Vancouver.

In 2001, the Institute commissioned a ground breaking paper on the future of Canada’s healthcare system, “Revitalizing Medicare – Shared Problems, Public Solutions”. (available at http://www.chspr.ubc.ca/node/262 ) The paper was written by M. Rachlis, R. Evans, P. Lewis , ML Barer.

The Institute followed up on this research with efforts to support public engagement with the Romanow Commission. The Institute’s website maintained an archive of published commentaries, submissions to the Commission, and links to related research and public opinion findings.

Tim Woods joined the Institute’s Board in 2001 and currently serves as the Executive Director. He was Press Secretary to NDP Leader Ed Broadbent and also a founder of the Canadian Community for Dialogue and Deliberation.

Looking forward, the Institute will focus on citizen engagement in the public policy process. Tommy once said, “Courage my friends, it’s never too late to make the world a better place.” We strongly believe that Canadians do indeed want to make the world a better place and we need to improve our democratic processes to ensure our voices are heard.

The Tommy Douglas Research Institute is an independant, non-profit, research and education institution.  The Institute has registered charitable tax status, making your donations go further.  Please send your donation to:

Tommy Douglas Research Institute

502 – 1970 Haro Street, Vancouver, BC V6G 1H6

tel:  604 685 7277

Please ensure you give us your mailing address.  We will forward you an official tax receipt for your donation and put you on our mailing list.  Charitable receipts are provided in accordance to Canada Revenue Agency guidelines.  The TDRI is registered under the Tax Act relating to Charities – Charitable Registration Number RC-00-801