Let’s talk about the true cost of Canada’s so-called "free" health care. And I don’t mean what it costs the government. I mean what it’s costing you—in time, in money, in health, and in your ability to live your life without pain, stress, or financial ruin.

According to a new Fraser Institute report, in 2024 alone, 1,543,994 Canadians were stuck waiting for medically necessary care. That’s nearly 4% of the country—about the population of Manitoba—trapped in diagnostic or treatment limbo.

The average Canadian waiting for surgery or a specialist appointment lost $3,364 in income last year alone. And that’s a conservative estimate, based only on standard work hours—9 to 5, Monday to Friday.

But if you count evenings and weekends—every waking moment lost while waiting in pain or reduced capacity—the real number balloons to $10,266 per person. And the total economic cost? $15.9 billion.

That’s more than the entire annual budgets of Veterans Affairs, Public Safety, or the RCMP.

And this isn’t for elective procedures. These are medically necessary services—hip replacements, cancer diagnostics, cardiovascular surgeries. Things that determine whether people suffer, heal, or die.

Some context:

• In 2023, the average wait time from GP referral to treatment in Canada was 27.7 weeks.

• In 1993, that number was 9.3 weeks.

• In Nova Scotia, it’s a horrifying 56.7 weeks.

• The OECD average for similar care? About 8 weeks.

And yet Canadians are paying more than almost anyone else in the developed world for this disgrace.

We spent $344 billion on health care in 2023, or 13.1% of GDP. That’s $8,563 per person—and for what? To be told to wait. Or worse, to take a number and hope it doesn’t outlive you.

Now here’s the part that should chill you: while you're stuck waiting, the government’s offering a faster alternative—death.

That’s right. If you wait long enough, suffer hard enough, and can’t afford to live without treatment, there’s always MAiD—Medical Assistance in Dying.

And it’s booming.

MAiD is now among the top 10 causes of death in Canada. In 2023, over 13,000 people ended their lives with government help—many citing lack of access to care, housing, or even food as contributing reasons.

So while you wait in pain for surgery that never comes, the same health system that can’t book your MRI is more than happy to book your death.

A new Angus Reid poll reveals that 62% of Canadians worry disadvantaged people may turn to MAID as a result of poor health care accesshttps://t.co/pQKhugEMy8

— Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) November 22, 2024

That’s not compassion. That’s a system giving up on you—because it’s cheaper.

Let’s not forget: this Fraser report only measures lost wages for the person in the queue. It doesn’t count:

• Family members who miss work to provide care;

• Mental anguish or emotional strain from delayed diagnoses;

• Increased risk of complications or death from those delays.

This is not universal care. It’s universal suffering.

But Ottawa’s response? More bureaucratic bandaids. More DEI consultants. More scolding provinces for daring to reform the system.

And while Canadians are forced to hold bake sales to afford private treatment abroad, our ruling class jets off to the Mayo Clinic or skips the line entirely with a wink and a phone call.

It’s time to end the monopoly. It’s time to let provinces fund care in better ways. It’s time to give Canadians a choice other than pain and poverty.

Because if you’re still calling this system “free,” you must be talking about the government—because the rest of us are paying for it with our health, our income, and our lives.

And when the waitlists get too long? The state has a syringe with your name on it.

PETITION: Help Not Homicide!

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Goal: 40,000 signatures

Canadians need help, not homicide. Physician-assisted suicide has received a rebrand to end the stigma. It’s now called MAID (Medical Assistance In Dying) in an attempt to appear less sinister. What's worse, medical homicides are not only happening because someone faces imminent death due to a painful chronic illness. Now, Canadians can apply for many reasons, including mental health, poverty, debt, and even eating disorders. Canadians need proper care, not prompt dispatching at the hands of some overly eager medical professional. If you agree that medical assistance in dying is not a cure for depression, poverty, or despair, please sign this petition.

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