This was a crucial report, which detailed the need for comprehensive and universal social programs. Dr. Leonard Marsh wrote the report. The report is considered by many to be the most important single report in the history of the development of the Canadian welfare state. Marsh suggested that the country should establish a "social minimum," a standard aimed at protecting the disadvantaged through policies such as social insurance and children's allowances. The study didn't attract much attention from policymakers at first, but by 1966, most of Marsh's recommendations had become law. His work served as the blueprint for the modern Canadian social security system. University of Toronto historian Michael Bliss described the Marsh report as "the most important single document in the history of the Welfare State in Canada." Marsh himself viewed his report as the natural outgrowth of the decade of social studies he had directed at McGill University.

An article at this web site calls Leonard Marsh the father of the social security system.

http://www.mcgill.ca/uro/News/marsh.htm