HK is a developed metro city, with perfect transit system that you dont even need to drive!!!! And to become a HK citizen is petty simple, you just need to invest 1 million Canadian in HK asset such as stocks or housing etc… and live their for 7 years.

But let me mind you, HK has very poor pollution that you cannot even see the BLUE Sky 95% of the year!!!!! Also, in HK if you dont have money in your pocket people will not treat you like human anymore.

I LOVE Canada because of the FREE healthcare, FREE Education for the children and thee FREE BLUE SKY and FREE (or close to free) camp site, lake, trails, mountains!!!!

I have a 1 year old and I gets $160 from the government every month plus I claim child care expense I actually making money from the benefit!!!!!!

I live in a border city and have a cousin that is a doctor but is not currently licensed to practice (he earned his degrees from another country so this issue is two-fold). When asked about the move of doctors to the US he told me that, in his research (he currently works in a Canadian hospital while he continues his studies) he said that, though the wages in the US are higher, so too is the malpractice insurance…so much so that it’s almost a wash. He told me this a few years back when the US dollar was worth a lot more so I wonder how true it is that we lose doctors to the US due to wages. This is just one opinion but thought it might be worth mentioning.

Also, I currently work in the US and live in Canada. I can tell you that, as a married person with two equal incomes, no children and a relatively small mortgage (since home mortgage can be written off in the US), the tax rate difference between Canada and the US is not nearly as significant as people think. The tax advantages grow when you add children to the mix as well as high mortgages but in our current situation, there is not real US tax advantage.

This may be one of the reasons our system is in worse shape than other countries. We have an even more expensive system to the south offering even more inflated salaries. It’s a lot easier to move to the US from Canada than from Europe or Asia. I have no idea what the solution is, other than imposing penalties or incentives to keep doctors here. Perhaps make medical school fully paid for if the student graduates and works in Canada. If they move to another country, they have to pay back the entire cost of their education, not just the already subsidized tuition.

Many have said the system is underfunded but I’m not convinced the answer is to pour more money into the health care system. Many physicians that I’ve spoken with complain about low salaries and the opportunity for more money in the USA. Simple laws of economics teach us that if we increase the salaries of physicians and health care workers, people who wouldn’t have normally choosen a career in health care would now move in to it. We see this now and its scarey. Many up and coming potential med students are choosing the career for the prestige and the money and not to help humanity.

I think there are 3 major cost centres for health care:
1. wages & salary,
2. technology & infrastructure, and
3. education & training.

I don’t mean to offend any physicians on this forum, but I think the wages & salary are too high – here and in the US.

I propose that we vastly increase the number of seats in medical school and allow those qualified from other countries to practise. The increase in health care workers (supply) will naturally reduce the high cost of salaries and wages paid.

New med students should sign contracts upon admission to work in Canada for at least 10 years after graduation. To graduates from going south there should be penalties. E.g. loss of license to practice in Canada, immediate repayment of student loans, grants and bursaries, repayment of tax credits or even fines.

My 2 cents.

While it’s probably true our healthcare system needs fixing, the solution isn’t privatization and lower taxes. Americans may pay less tax, but they pay more per capita for healthcare and get less coverage. In fact, there was a recent study showing that even the Americans who can afford to pay receive a lower level of care than in other countries. Money is not the problem, therefor throwing money at it or taking money away will not fix the problem. We need to look at countries with more efficient systems than ours and figure out what we can do better.

I’ve never been too worried about how much I pay in tax, because I know people in the US who earn about what I do, and despite paying less tax they aren’t noticeably better off. They still have to pay for the things that aren’t covered by their taxes.

“I see no reason why the Irish or the Polish can’t help themselves.”

I’d add Quebec to that list, even though we don’t call their handouts foreign aid.