CBC Archives

You must sign in to leave a comment on this clip.

Bethune's Montreal years

Broadcast Date: Feb. 26, 1974

After surviving tuberculosis, Bethune went to work at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal. Here, he dove into the field of thoracic (chest) surgery "with a zest that only a condemned man saved by a last-minute reprieve can feel." In this 1974 Quebec Now clip, doctors and nurses who knew him at the "Royal Vic" recall Bethune's legendary impatience in the operating room, his "devil-may-care lifestyle," and the attraction nurses felt towards him.

Bethune's Montreal years

•Upon recovery from tuberculosis, Bethune decided to dedicate himself to tubercular research and thoracic surgery. A doctor named Edward Archibald happened to be starting up a tubercular research centre at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, and he invited Bethune to join his staff in early 1928.

• While at the Royal Vic, Bethune invented a number of surgical tools to be used in thoracic surgery. Many of these eventually made it onto the pages of medical supply catalogues. Among these were his famous "Bethune rib shears," inspired by a set of leather cutting shears he saw in a shoe repair shop. Surgeons still use these today.

• Dr. Archibald and Dr. Bethune's personalities were complete opposites, and the two often butted heads. Bethune liked to perform his surgeries quickly and often took great risks, while Archibald had a much slower, more careful manner.
• Bethune also clashed with many of his colleagues at the Royal Vic, mainly because of his outspoken criticism of ideas he didn't agree with.

• In Montreal, Bethune really began exploring his creative side. He painted during his free time.
• He dressed flamboyantly, drank heavily and socialized with artists. According to Bethune biographer Roderick Stewart, "polite society" in Montreal tended to view the outspoken Bethune as shocking and rude.

• Bethune loved children, however, and brought in an art teacher to teach free classes for children on Saturday mornings out of his Montreal apartment.

• While enjoying his bohemian lifestyle, he also became quite aware of the misery of the poor in Montreal during the Depression. He had strong opinions on the links between poverty and illness. He wrote in a 1932 article: "The rich man recovers and the poor man dies… Lack of time and money kills more cases of pulmonary tuberculosis than lack of resistance to that disease." Bethune slowly began to believe in the necessity of free medical care for all members of society.

• Bethune went to Russia for a physiology conference in 1935. While there, he took a close look at Russia's socialized medical system. He was impressed, and began to promote a similar system for Canada when he returned. In a country that feared the spread of Soviet-style Communism, the reaction to his ideas on socialized medicine was quite hostile.

• There were some like-minded doctors and nurses in Montreal, and Bethune started "The Montreal Group for the Security of the People's Health." The group met regularly in Bethune's apartment throughout the winter and spring of 1936.

• After becoming dedicated to the idea of socialized medicine, he slowly began exploring other Communist notions. At first he was unsure about diving into such a controversial organization, but he eventually joined the Communist party during 1936.

Bethune's Montreal years

Medium: Radio

Program: Quebec Now

Broadcast Date: Feb. 26, 1974

Guest(s): G. Cousineau, Eileen Flanagan, Cyril Flanagan, Mary Roach, Dr. Wherrett

Narrator: John Grenfell, Julie Wildman

Duration: 8:50

Photo: National Archives of Canada

Last updated:
June 7, 2004