And why do so many Americans come to Canada and lie to get basic medical treatment?

Here's the deal:
Most Canadians would rather not get stuck in some American hospital bankrupting themselves for survival. So most of us don't go to the US for care.

The thing about Waiting Lists is that because we have regular contact with our doctors (free contact) we can identify issues early on. It's called Preventative Medicine, rather than addressing problems after they happen, we identify them before they start. It sucks to wait 9 months for a knee replacement, but that knee problem was spotted potentially months earlier for a Canadian as opposed to an American who may have waited until they were forced to go to an expensive doctors visit because their knee doesn't work.

However there are some treatments that are more developed in the US, some of the *rare* cancer treatments. That's because there are 300million Americans, allowing for more specialization in health problems that affect a very small .00001% of the population.

And here's the kicker: Our Socialized medicine will pay for Canadians to go to the US for these treatments when they aren't offered here.

Some Canadians aren't going to the US for rare treatments though. There are also some who feel that good enough Health Care isn't fast enough. They spend their own dough in the US, saving my health system money and generally showing their stupidity.

And then there are the Boobs. I'm hard pressed to find anything comparable to the Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon in Canada. Of course Socialized medicine shouldn't be buying Boobs as a general rule of thumb.

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What it really comes down to is LIFE EXPECTANCY
You can shout to me until your blue in the face that the United States has a superior Health Care system than Canada. It's certainly more expensive per capita, but 2 years after you're dead I'll still be here laughing.

Being Canadian I like to follow the rules as well KraftDinner.
It's the Canadian way really, just like saying 'sorry' when someone steps on our foot. We just have to watch out for our tendency to over legislate things once in a while.

It is not a failing to play by the rules when others cheat. There are sometimes bigger pictures beyond individual situations that the rules are meant to address. If the system and participants in it encourage cheating then the whole thing ultimately breaks. (cough banking cough)

Some countries and businesses may disagree, I just don't have to respect them. Though I'd never say that to their face.

Instead I'd give them a little of the silent moral condemnation that we Canadians can do so well.

Something like acknowledging what few 'merits' there may be in their solution, things like it being fast and cheap while subtly reminding them of the legal ramifications those 'merits' may bring with them.

Sigh, I suspect I did a useless post as well.
Ah well. We can't all be smrt on the internets.

yeah but now we know where to post to get the achievement.

This docile Canadian can't help but notice that the US and UK both have flushed their banks down the toilet. I can notice things like that because I'm not worried about my banks. See us docile Canucks somehow managed not to screw the pooch and deregulate banking to the extent that the whole industry collapses. In fact, and this is real funny, our banks are the healthiest in the world.

Now back to enjoying my tea and looking down my nose at my neighbours.