Privatized healthcare reduces what should be a shared social risk to an individual burden, writes Sara Black McCulloch.
July 3, 2026
By Sara Black McCulloch, Contributor
Toronto Star
In the American imagination, Canada’s medical system is aspirational. But people living in Canada know the distance from that pedestal to the floor. Our lived experiences have grounded those expectations.
The only thing more universal than Canadian health care is our disappointment in it. There are the wait times; the millions without a family doctor; the barriers to access; the unequal treatment and poorer health outcomes of racialized and Indigenous communities.
Clearly, the list of shortcomings is long, and desperately calls out for reform. Nonetheless, it doesn’t tip the scales in favour of privatization.
No matter where you stand on healthcare policy, you can’t escape the fact that illness is inevitable. Each of us will, at some point, get sick, and won’t be able to control the timing, severity and cost. We need universal health care because it shields us from that uncertainty.
I know this all too well. Before I turned 35, I had already been diagnosed with cancer twice. I was caught off guard, but never had to ask if surgery was covered by my HMO, or whether an insurance company approved my claims. I didn’t have to think about crowdfunding my treatment either.
Privatization advocates argue that for-profit models reduce wait times and fast-track treatment. But the lure of efficiency and convenience obscures trade-offs like medical debt and diminished quality of care. In practice, privatization prioritizes profits over people. It shifts care from a duty to a transaction, exploiting people at their most vulnerable.
Read more at the Toronto Star (paywall)
