Dr. Forbes Godfrey was a Chief Medical Health Officer for the Town of Mimico and one of the first medical doctors to successfully run for, and win, a seat in the Ontario Legislature.
Godfrey, who passed away in 1932 at the age of 65, for years practiced from his 26 Albert St. home in Mimico, before he ran for politics.
Ironically, the son of a Methodist minister was a champion of inoculation for the prevention of infectious diseases, at a time when the practice was scorned or unheard of.
He and a few other Canadian doctors at the time demanded and obtained a program for the inoculation of Canadian soldiers during World War 1.
A Conservative, Dr. Godfrey was elected in a 1907 by-election to fill a York West seat left vacant by the death of an incumbent.
When G. Howard Ferguson was elected Conservative Premier in 1923, he invited the outspoken Mimico physician to become Ontario’s first Minister of Health, a position he held for 20 years.
The doctor made his presence known in the Legislature by demanding his government take the lead in combating tuberculosis, which then caused the deaths of many citizens; but not as many as COVID-19 today.
His investigations and presentation of the facts to the Legislature led to a commission to look into and combat tuberculosis. It led to government-supported tuberculosis hospitals being created. He became known as a champion of inoculation for prevention of infectious diseases.
Dr. Godfrey was by all accounts a kind and compassionate politician, who remained the Health Minister from 1911 to 1931. He was a Cabinet minister for seven years at a time where there was great growth in the community.
The MD is credited for organizing the Health Dept. from the ground up and obtained laws that forced mine owners to provide protection for employees against silicosis.
He also sponsored industrial health programs, agitated for control of the newly discovered insulin as a public trust, organized health clinics for remote areas of Ontario and free inoculation and vaccination programs for school children.
The doctor’s Mimico home was a busy place. His daughter, Constance, married Dr. Warren Snyder, another popular physician, and the two doctors had their own practice.
Dr. Godfrey remained an MPP until his death. He had been in poor health with pernicious anaemia, a disease for which no cure was known at that time.
It was a large procession. Mimico schools closed the day of his funeral and citizens crowded area streets to pay tribute to their hometown doctor who never hesitated to fight for his community.
He died two years before the May 28, 1934 births of the famous Dionne quintuplets, who were born outside Callander, Ontario. The identical girls, who were on display for a large part of their lives, were helped by the inoculations. It is believed that two of the sisters are alive today.