Universal health care shouldn’t mean universal waiting

A health-care system should not make people sicker while they wait to receive care. Nor should it train people to avoid seeking care because they dread the ordeal of accessing it. Universal health care shouldn’t mean universal waiting. It should mean universal access to care that is timely, connected, efficient and humane.

The ER at Ottawa's Civic Hospital, pictured Sept. 9. 2026. Canada should also make emergency care more seamless across provincial borders. Living in the National Capital Region makes the problem particularly obvious: Ottawa and Gatineau form one metropolitan region, yet patients navigate two provincial health-care systems, writes Jacob Beaulieu. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Opinion

BY JACOB BEAULIEU

September 10, 2026

OTTAWA—Recently, my wife badly injured her foot while hiking. The pain became excruciating and she could not put any weight on it, so we went to the emergency department.

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