public health care
Last year, Ontarians waited (on average) 29.7 weeks for orthopedic surgery.
The average family of four will pay about $12,000 for public health care in 2017.
The notion of “free health care” seems to have gained cult-like status in Canada. This is perplexing given that provincial/territorial government spending on health care (including federal transfers) accounted for 7.1 per cent ($141 billion) of the Canadian economy in 2014.
“Don’t touch my free health care,” is a common refrain from defenders of the status quo whenever anyone broaches the topic of reforming Canada’s health-care system.
Professor Colleen Flood’s recent column in Globe Debate (Canada should look to Europe on health care, not the U.S) got the title right – but just about everything else wrong. Canadians would indeed benefit from a look at Europe for lessons on healthcare reform. What they should not do is fall for Ms. Flood’s erroneous jumbling of statistics that muddle reality and results in false conclusions.