The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeon in Canada has recently written a report relevant to this issue
Click here for the full report

It is clear that provinces (like Nova Scotia where I live) cannot afford the medical system they already have. There are many patients with unmet needs and surgeons who can't find employment or the resources they require to be effectively employed.

To put it bluntly, Healthcare is the biggest part of the Nova Scotia Provincial Budget and the Province is drowning in debt at an accelerating rate. Thus, "universal healthcare" is sliding down the path to becoming "rationed healthcare".

I am a citizen of 3 nations have experienced healthcare in 5 nations. Canada is unique in legislating that the government shall have a monopoly on the provision of healthcare. It is because of this monopoly position that I would have to reluctantly agree with Dr Turner, for now.

But the situation in Canada is not sustainable. Indeed the government monopoly would probably have been broken already, but for the fact that many Canadians have the option of going elsewhere to get treatment that they cannot get in Canada. Thus, the paradox is that medical tourism is a safety valve for our government-run healthcare rationing system.