Eagles? No, It is the Health Care!

People wonder why I moved from Montreal with its hip and lively folks and from the Harvard of the North, McGill, to the squarest city, Ottawa, and to Carleton which is far less famous.

The answer of the day would appear to be death from above:


No, we did not move because of the threat of eagles grabbing my kid (teenagers are probably a bit too big).  One of the major drivers was a dissatisfaction with everything the Quebec government touched, which is quite a lot.  One of these things is health care.  When people lauded the Canadian health care system and compare it to the American one, I always scoffed, saying that health care is not national but provincial.  And today I had my first encounter with the Ontario health care system (well, besides the Children's ER), and I have to say, damn, I am glad I moved to Ontario.  I might have to start admiring the Canadian health care system....

I didn't have to wait past my appointment time to be seen, the doctor met with me while the blood pressure machine was still cycling, the clinic was clean, the doctor was friendly and engaged.  The pharmacy next door was super-helpful.&  It was like I was in fantasy medical treatment land.  Sure, this is just one encounter, and perhaps it will suck in the future.  But the juxtaposition between my old health care in Montreal (free in price and free in quality as in quality-free) and my new setup here is night and day. 

*  Next door to the pharmacy?  The Beer Store!

So, keep in mind that when you hear "Canadian health care", it really does vary by province.  If your kid gets picked up and dropped by an eagle, I hope it happens in some place other than Quebec.