And further down the article:
Meanwhile, a typical Canadian family of four will pay $12,057 for health care this year, an increase of approximately 70 percent over the last 20 years.
Apparently, your Canadian tax return isn't considered a "bill."
I wonder who compiled that number. Canada has pretty progressive extremes in its tax system. There is no way my family of 6 paid that much in taxes in total. We have pretty large deductions; one for our Christian private school and another for my wives college expenses.
But I do get the point. There was an idea floated that was soon dumped, that the government would send a mock bill for expensive surgeries to patients. For example, someone who had heart surgery would get a bill demonstrating how the cost came to say $25,000. They wouldn’t have to pay it, but it would demonstrate that healthcare is NOT free. The media was all over it, saying it “guilted” BC residents, and it was dumped.