I forget specifically what he had, though it was severe. Something along the lines of a double-by pass, and the doctors said it was good they caught it when they did.
I spent almost the last three years living there for school, and had to visit the ER once. I was in the lab one night, broke a thermometer and it went fairly deep into my hand. I waited for ~2.5 hours to see a doctor and get an x-ray (for broken glass), not terribly long, but have heard of much longer.
Had a friend who had torn cartilidge in a knee (which I had surgery for a while back). The doctor told him to 'take it easy, and get rest' and couldn't get an MRI. From my initial pain, it took me a few weeks (factoring in initial doc visits, and my usual procrastinating) to get it taken care of.
What I pay for my insurance now (through my employer) is cheaper than what it was there (you are req'd to pay into it).
I'm not slamming anyone there, I met some great people there and Alberta is very conservative, even by US standards. However, the main argument in favor of it (of students I knew) was 'But everyone is covered'. IMO, the other misconception is that in the US, often you will see a bill and people think it is expensive. I think it is always favorable to see what you are paying for something, keeping in mind that 'there is no such thing as a free lunch'.
To their benefit, Canada is not NEARLY as litigious as the US. A cousin of mine was terminally ill with a rare tumor in his spinal cord. Our Aunt (a wealthy, greedy TX Republican) flew him to Canada almost weekly for experimental treatments that he was unable to receive in the US because it wasn't 'approved' yet. Nothing halts inovation like lawyers.
Goes without saying that legal issues are a huge cost of anything medically related.
Wow, what horror stories. I hope like hell for people who are subject to those healthcare 'systems' that the providers aren't as stingy with pain meds as they are in the US. People would suffer for weeks instead of days.