Oh I am certainly not making the claim that the two-tiered system is the answer. But I am asking our politicians to propose *something*, because the status quo is, yes, awful.
I've never waited less than 4 hours in emerge (whether for myself or with other people). And I'm not the kind who would go to emerge lightly, certainly not after all the wait times and the bad experiences I'm having!
I admit that I'm basing things are anecdotes, but honestly I can't think of a single case for myself or loved ones where things have gone smoothly in Canada (the worst is emerge in downtown Vancouver). I don't want to provide more anecdotes (such as: multiple errors in diagnosis, impossible wait times to see specialists, important surgeries reported at the last minute), one because hospital stories are not fun to read, and two for obvious privacy reasons. I just happen to know at least three healthcare systems well (I assure you the story from France wasn't an isolated case of getting lucky), as I'm old enough to have lived in three different countries long enough, for having lots of friends and family abroad, etc.
I LOVE the *idea* of our healthcare system. Believe me, I'm quite the lefty when it comes to most issues. But a socialist healthcare system becomes a bad one when it's underfunded, inefficient, and dogmatic. In fact, we HAVE a two-tiered system already, since very rich people can just go get their healthcare South of the border and avoid the long wait times and sub-optimal care.
There's plenty of ideas out there to improve the system. Just watch the many instances of the Agenda on TVO on the topic. There was a recent article in the Toronto Star (at least I think it was there, read it from my newsfeed), with plenty of creative suggestions from healthcare practitioners. My only point in all this was why is it that no political party is offering anything.
PS: I admire the work nurses do in these conditions. True heroes in my book. We should have Nurse Appreciation Night at the CTC instead of this sole focus on our military.