Canadian Free Healthcare Is Great
August 26, 2026
True story. A RAMQ office in Montréal, an appointment booked to take the picture for my health card.
- Salut
- Bonjour
- Comment puis-je vous aider ?
- Je parle un petit peu français. Vous parlez anglais ?
- Oui
- I'm here to take the picture for my health card
- Are you booked? We only see people who booked an appointment
- Yes, I am
- When?
- 11:15 AM
- You're 5 minutes late
- Désolé. There were two other government offices around. I got lost. First time here
- Can you give me the letter you received?
- Sure. Here's my driver's license and a photo of the letter from the government
- Yes
- I need the paper
- What do you mean?
- I need the physical letter
- Why?
- For the QR code
- But you can scan the QR code from an image
- I need the paper
- I don't have the paper anymore. I don't understand how this makes sense. I'm here. I'm proving my identity with my driver's license. I could only book this appointment after receiving the letter. I'm showing you the digital version of the letter and the QR code. You can scan it to double-check. Everything is surely documented in your system. I'm a software engineer. The database has everything. And I bet there's a way for you to check the data.
- The rule is the paper
- I don't have the paper anymore
- You will need to call again and get a new one
- You must be kidding me. They take two hours to answer the phone in that thing. (I am suspicious the guy has a Portuguese accent. From Brasil or Portugal.) Vous parlez portugais ?
- Oui, un peu
- D'où viens-tu ? Du Brésil ?
- Sim
- Porra, vc é brasileiro, mano?
- Sou
- Tá aqui há quanto tempo?
- 10 anos
- Então vc fala português pra caralho! Tá de sacanagem. Poxa, eu fiquei 50 min no metrô. Longe pra caralho. Eu tô tentando tirar esse plano de saúde há um tempão. Desenrola isso aí, pelo amor de Deus. Dá um jeitinho aí, mano, na brotheragem
- I can't
- Funny that you answered in English
- Silence
- Ok, bro. Have a nice day. You are truly a Canadian robot. Congrats.
I start laughing like the Joker from Batman. Feels surreal. I turn to the people waiting in line:
Hey guys, I've been trying to get health insurance from Quebec since April. Do you know what's funny? I moved to Canada more than 3 years ago and I've never had a family doctor! Hahahah. I tried in BC and Ontario. Now, I am trying to just get the card. Worst experience ever. All this BS is to get access to healthcare basically for emergencies. If you actually need something not urgent for them (but important for you), drive 2 hours south and pay. Canadians love to brag about their free healthcare compared to the American system. Too bad it doesn't work in reality - unless you are about to be dead. Especially for immigrants. If you got your family doctor 10y ago you are good! Enjoy them