The Legal Implications of Private Healthcare in Canada

“Our proudest achievement in the well being of Canadians has been in asserting that illness is burden enough in itself. Financial ruin must not compound it. That is why Medicare has been called a sacred trust and we must not allow that trust to be betrayed.” -- Justice Emmet Hall

 INTRODUCTION

A Little Background History

Since 1962, Canada has had a government-funded, national healthcare system founded on the five basic principles of the Canada Health Act . The principles are to provide a healthcare system that is: universally available to permanent residents, comprehensive in the services it covers, accessible without income barriers, portable within and outside of the country, and publicly administered.

The Canadian Medicare system is a publicly financed health care system operated as a joint venture between the federal government and the provinces and territories (Wilson, 2002). The funding and guidelines for the healthcare system are provided by the Federal government. This centralization is meant to ensure the essential uniformity of the healthcare services provided by medical professionals throughout