The Wait Is the Price: Quiet Rationing Plagues Canadian Health Care
Last month, a video was trending on social media showing a Canadian woman explaining that she had a 13-month wait for a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test to check for a brain tumor.
Canada healthcare is horrifying'Today on how f*cked is Canadian healthcare: I need an MRI to see if I have a f*cking brain tumor. Go ahead guess when it is? Go ahead, guess. It's in 2026''My MRI to see if I have a brain tumor is in 2026. It's March 2025 right now''If you… pic.twitter.com/fX1S0MD9EP — Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) March 23, 2025
On X, formerly known as Twitter, community notes popped up to say that the video was misleading. 'Priority is decided by physicians, not the province,' wrote one commenter. Another noted that wait times did vary by province.
None of this, however, detracts from the core truths: Canadian health care is not free and it has two prices: the taxes Canadians pay for it and the wait times that make Canadians pay in the form of service rationing.
Canada's publicly provided health care system actually requires rationing in order to contain costs. Because services are offered at no monetary price, demand exceeds the available supply of doctors, equipment, and facilities. If the different provinces (which operate most health care services) wanted to meet the full demand, each would have to raise taxes significantly to fund services. To keep expenditures down (managing the imbalance from public provision) and thus taxes as well, the system relies on rationing through wait times rather than prices.
The rationing keeps many patients away from care facilities or encourages them to avoid dealing with minor but nevertheless problematic ailments. These costs are not visible in taxes paid for health care, but they are true costs that matter to people.
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Last month, a video was trending on social media showing a Canadian woman explaining that she had a 13-month wait for a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test to check for a brain tumor. Canada healthcare is horrifying'Today on how f*cked is Canadian healthcare: I need an MRI to see if I have a f*cking brain tumor. Go ahead guess when it is? Go ahead, guess. It's in 2026''My MRI to see if I have a brain tumor is in 2026. It's March 2025 right now''If you… — Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) March 23, 2025 On X, formerly known as Twitter, community notes popped up to say that the video was misleading. 'Priority is decided by physicians, not the province,' wrote one commenter. Another noted that wait times did vary by province. None of this, however, detracts from the core truths: Canadian health care is not free and it has two prices: the taxes Canadians pay for it and the wait times that make Canadians pay in the form of service rationing. Canada's publicly provided health care system actually requires rationing in order to contain costs. Because services are offered at no monetary price, demand exceeds the available supply of doctors, equipment, and facilities. If the different provinces (which operate most health care services) wanted to meet the full demand, each would have to raise taxes significantly to fund services. To keep expenditures down (managing the imbalance from public provision) and thus taxes as well, the system relies on rationing through wait times rather than prices. The rationing keeps many patients away from care facilities or encourages them to avoid dealing with minor but nevertheless problematic ailments. These costs are not visible in taxes paid for health care, but they are true costs that matter to people. Click here to read more
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Because they're inexpensive, neutral in flavor, and relatively shelf-stable, seed oils are a food manufacturer's dream—allowing processed foods to last longer, taste better, and remain profitable. Shanahan estimates that seed oils account for 20–30 percent of the average American's daily calorie intake. This figure wasn't easy to calculate, as seed oils aren't tracked as a category. Shanahan analyzed decades of production data from crops like soybeans and canola, using government and industry reports to uncover the extent of seed oils' presence in modern diets. 'Humans have never consumed polyunsaturates at this level before,' she warns. 'Historically, diets relied mainly on animal fats, not oils rich in PUFAs. If you don't know to avoid them, you're eating vast quantities.' Gardner agrees—but says the issue isn't just seed oils. The rise in seed oil consumption isn't because more people are making homemade salad dressings, he said. It's because ultra-processed foods—where these oils are used heavily—now dominate the American diet. Gardner argues that even if seed oils were removed from the food supply tomorrow, ultra-processed foods wouldn't disappear—they'd just be reformulated. 'If the same UPFs were made with another oil like butter, beef tallow, lard, or coconut fat, those foods would not suddenly become health foods.' At its core, the debate over seed oils is about more than just the oils themselves. It's about the processed foods they're in—and whether we should be eating so many of them in the first place. Rather than fixating on eliminating seed oils altogether, experts say the bigger issue is reducing ultra-processed foods and choosing high-quality, stable fats when cooking at home. 'If you want to improve your health by cutting back on seed oils, the best way to do that is by eating fewer ultra-processed foods,' Gardner advises. 'That would be a win in several ways—less sugar, less refined grain, and less sodium.' For those looking to make better choices in their kitchens, experts recommend using stable, minimally processed oils that are less prone to oxidation: Avocado: High in monounsaturated fats, stable for high heat High in monounsaturated fats, stable for high heat Extra virgin olive: Rich in antioxidants, ideal for drizzling or light cooking Rich in antioxidants, ideal for drizzling or light cooking Butter and ghee: Naturally stable for high-heat cooking Naturally stable for high-heat cooking Coconut: High in saturated fat, making it oxidation-resistant Flaxseed: High in omega-3s, best for dressings High in omega-3s, best for dressings Walnut: Antioxidant-rich, flavorful in salads Antioxidant-rich, flavorful in salads Sesame: Aromatic and moderately heat-stable Soybean Corn Canola Cottonseed Sunflower Safflower Grapeseed Rice bran While some specialty versions exist in cold-pressed forms, they are far less common than their mass-produced, highly processed counterparts. The debate over seed oils is far from over, but one thing is clear: How you consume them matters. A drizzle of canola oil on a homemade salad is not the same as eating French fries fried in old restaurant oil. Relying on ultra-processed foods filled with cheap oils, sugar, and additives is where the larger problem lies. For most people, the best way to improve their diet isn't to worry about every drop of seed oil—it's to eat more fresh, unprocessed foods, says Gardner. 'It seems bizarre to blame the plant oils and not the foods they're in.'
