A drive through with only one menu item
Canada has universal Health care. Canadians are very proud of this. Whenever anyone criticizes Canada or complements the US, on any issue, Maple Maoists (Liberal Canadians) will pivot to health care. Canadians believe our universal system is beyond reproach. It is irrefutable evidence of Canada’s moral superiority. Maple Maoists firmly believe no other nation cares more for their citizens than Canada. There is nothing more virtuous than being Canadian.
That would be lovely if it were true. But it is not. It is just more evidence of how incredibly insane the average Canadian is. It is true that Canada has universal health care, but our system is nothing to be proud of. To start with it is incredibly expensive. Health care costs $9,626 per person ($7,053 USD). That is not the highest in the world, but Canada is also not the wealthiest country in the world. Measured against GDP Canadians pay a premium for less than average results.
After adjustments for differences in the age of the population of these 31 countries, Canada ranked third highest for spending as a percentage of GDP in 2023 (the most recent year of comparable data).
Across 13 indictors measured, the availability of medical resources and timely access to medical services in Canada was generally below that of the average OECD country
Canadians never get what they pay for. The modern history of Canada is that Canadians pay top dollar for subpar services. The problem, as always, is government. The Canadian health care system is almost exclusively run by government. If you made that true statement to a Canadian politician, they would tell you they are wrong. They would tell you the system in each province is run by an independent board. But it isn’t. How can the board be independent when the members are all political appointees and get their operating budget from the government?
I don’t know why Canadians are OK with this let alone proud of the system. Often, I ask people to name one thing the government does well. When they can’t name anything, my second question is “why do you want them running hospitals then”? The combination of those 2 questions triggers Maple Maoists. It always gets the same angry response. They accuse me of wanting American for-profit health care. To Maple Maoist there are only ever 2 options; government run health care or people dying at the hands of dirty capitalists. They conveniently ignore the 17,000 Canadians who die waiting on treatment every year.
The Canadian system so admired by Canadians relies on waiting lists to control costs. They are a means to effectively deny service. Long wait times reduce the number of people seeking services because many die waiting while others with money travel elsewhere for service. I know this because 2.5 years ago I travelled to get service that was denied to me.
I needed a new hip. The waiting list to see a surgeon was 18 months. If the surgeon agrees that I need a new hip it is another 18 months wait for surgery. 50% of the time the surgeon does not refer the patient for surgery. I am very certain that GPs do not refer patients to surgeons on a whim. That means 100% of the people waiting to see surgeons need new hips but only 50% get surgery. The decision of who gets surgery is not then a medical one. The government sees my tax returns. They know I can afford to pay for my own surgery. What do you think the odds are that I would have been in the 50% denied surgery?
So much for universal health care. The reality is that the government will find ways to make the universal system somewhat less than universal. They will always find ways to deny service, and they have a new tool for doing just that, Medical Assistance In Dying (M.A.I.D). MAID was sold to Canadians as compassionate care. Terminally ill patients could have their suffering cut short. But it did not take long for the sociopaths in our capitals to realize killing people cuts costs more effectively than waiting lists. In fact, it has become the only health service in Canada that has no wait list.
An official report by the Chief Coroner of Ontario’s Medical Assistance in Dying Death Review Committee (MDRC) highlighted that, in 2023, 65 people in Ontario had their lives ended by Canada’s assisted suicide and euthanasia programme on the same day that they made their requests to do so. A further 154 people had their lives ended the day after their request was made.
There is no word as to when the drive though lanes will be installed but I am certain that it is in the works.
The Canadian health care system is not universal, superior, or compassionate. It is sick. The country is sick. Canadian politicians kill people to cut costs. I will go to my grave never understanding why so many Canadians trust government or laud our ineffective health care system.
