2026-10-14 from torontosun.com
The most recent statistics show that over five million Canadians don’t have a family doctor and wait times for elective joint replacements and specialist consultations routinely exceed recommended clinical benchmarks.
Public frustration is boiling over, prompting political pivoting in the design of provincial healthcare systems. Alberta’s Health Statutes Amendment Act, Bill 11, opens the door to allowing doctors to bill the public system while also charging private fees and creates an express lane for those who can pay out of pocket, fitting the definition of two-tier healthcare.
Privatization and queue-jumping are not cures for the systemic fragmentation that bedevil provincial healthcare systems. But neither is the status quo. The current system has patients navigating a deeply entrenched maze of disconnected services, resulting in delayed care, duplicated diagnostic testing and worsening symptoms for many.
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