OH, CHASMA... (via Christopher Gatto)

What’s the Canadian word for ‘lousy care’? (Jeremy Clarkson, 8/30/09, Times of London)

Some say America should follow Canada’s lead, where private care is effectively banned. But having experienced their procedures while on holiday in Quebec, I really don’t think that’s a good idea at all.

A friend’s 13-year-old son tripped while climbing off a speedboat and ripped his leg open. Things started well. The ambulance arrived promptly, the wound was bandaged and off he went in a big, exciting van.

Now, we are all used to a bit of a wait at the hospital. God knows, I’ve spent enough time in accident and emergency at Oxford’s John Radcliffe over the years, sitting with my sobbing children in a room full of people with swords in their eyes and their feet on back to front. But nothing can prepare you for the yawning chasm of time that passes in Canada before the healthcare system actually does any healthcare.

Anyone who takes Canadian health care seriously -- or socialists generally-- ought to watch The Barbarian Invasions.

Posted by Orrin Judd at September 2, 2009 1:27 PM