Canada is very close to accepting its public push for private health care insurance. The two-tiered system, which will quickly suck a huge amount of energy and resources from the public system, now looks inevitable.

He said a top priority was to reduce long waiting times for Canadians to see primary and specialist physicians. The country is plagued by numerous accounts of patients dying while they wait for care, or being forced to travel to the United States and other countries for specialized services.

Those opposed to privatizing the public health system worry it would lead to a two-tier approach in which wealthier patients would jump to the front of waiting lists and eventually lure physicians into private practice.