2026-10-30 from paherald.sk.ca
Provinces provide high quality and safe healthcare for millions of Canadians each year at the cost of almost one-half of provincial budgets. But cracks in provincial healthcare systems are widening.
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.
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