perhaps it's an innate patriotism, but i really do love debating with neighbours south of the border about the state of health care in canada. it's quite amazing the myths that get propagated.
that said, there are a lot of issues that need to be resolved within canada, and it's sad that admitting to those is often seen as a criticism of the canadian system in itself.
i'm happy to see that someone has put together a listing of facts that actually acknowledges the realities of the situation very well.
a few facts from my own history:
1. i had no trouble finding a g.p. in toronto, although it's the largest city in canada. no one i know has had a problem with this.
2. montreal has a shortage of g.p.'s and, while it's true i didn't have one in my time there, this was not because i couldn't find one. the preponderance of clinics available to the average montrealer means that there is always somewhere you can go for treatment.
3. i did once spend 22 hours in the emergency ward of the montreal general hospital, which was, i'm given to understand, some kind of record at the time. one of the chief reasons for the delay in my treatment was that the one doctor and two nurses on duty were busy treating three american tourists who had been fairly seriously injured in a fight. i do think they did the right thing...