[notfarnow]

As for the healthcare issue, yes it's true. However, we are seeing more Canadians travel abroad for some treatments due to long wait lists.

Basically, the supreme court ruled that citizens have a right to pursue private health care if the gov't wait lists are too long and jeopordize a patient's health. That was my understanding of the judgement, anyway.

As a side note, a couple weeks ago I took a nasty bonk to the head, and was out cold for a good 30 minutes. When I came to, I felt fine but my wife called "telecare", a FREE 24/hr medical helpline. Based on how long I'd been out, and some of my symptoms, they said I need to go to the hospital. They offered to send a FREE ambulance. We drove in instead, and I was checked out by a doctor within 30 minutes. They made me spend the night, waking me every hour, and did an CT scan. Went home in the morning, and the emergency doctor called me later that day to see if I should come in for a follow-up.
Total cost: $0

The cool thing is, the same level of service is available to anyone who shows up. No insurance, no HMO, no user fee. Whether you are a judge or a juggler, you get the same treatment.

Not that the system is perfect, in fact it's in great jeopardy. It's abused by people who see it as "free", and it's horribly under-funded. It's also under a lot of pressure who want to open the doors to private clinics and HMO's.