For decades, Canadians have been told that our health-care system is the envy of the world, a symbol of national pride. But the reality, as exposed in the new book My Fight for Canadian Healthcare by Dr. Brian Day, is far less flattering—and far more troubling. Dr. Day’s account of his 30-year battle to put patients first reveals a system bogged down by ideology, political inertia, and an aversion to necessary reform. His message is clear: It’s time for Canadians to take off the rose-coloured glasses and demand a system that actually works for patients.
The book is not an argument for dismantling universal health care—it’s a plea for modernization and responsiveness. Dr. Day, an orthopedic surgeon and founder of the Cambie Surgery Centre in Vancouver, offers a front-line perspective on how rationing, administrative inefficiency, and outdated policies systematically deny timely care to patients. Through detailed stories and compelling data, he documents the tragic human cost of excessive waiting lists—patients suffering needless pain, enduring irreversible deterioration, and, in some cases, dying of preventable deaths.
One of the most disturbing revelations in the book is the deliberate limitation of health-care capacity by provincial governments. Faced with budget constraints, administrators limit operating room time and restrict physician access, effectively forcing patients to suffer on long waiting lists. This isn’t the result of unavoidable resource shortages; it’s a consequence of deliberate policy choices aimed at controlling spending, even if that means denying patients the care they need when they need it.
What makes this all the more unacceptable is that many of the very politicians and bureaucrats who defend this system seek care in private clinics (including Dr. Day’s Cambie Surgery Centre) when their own health is on the line. This double standard—one system for the public, another for the elite—undermines the entire moral justification of Canada’s approach to health care. If the system were truly world-class, those in power would not seek alternatives.
Dr. Day’s legal battle began in 2009 when his clinic became the target of a government lawsuit for allegedly violating an existing prohibition on patients paying with their own money for medically necessary care. This same prohibition had already been found unconstitutional in Quebec by the Supreme Court’s Chaoulli ruling in 2005, on the grounds that it violated fundamental rights to life and security.
