Converting Canada to a Capitalist system of Government would be extremely beneficial for health care, and will aid in growing our economy. This will allow for better healthcare at a lower cost. Privately funded systems have lower wait times for emergency room treatments and smaller wait times for more advanced procedures and visits to a specialist and often having better services available. In addition to the health care benefits, capitalism grants more political liberty to Canadians. Since Capitalism requires fewer taxes, it leaves more freedom to the people to decide how to allocate and invest their money. Another benefit is that there is a much greater potential for economic growth. In Capitalist systems almost everything is free-market and the primary incentive for growth is profit, whereas, in a socialist system, everything is government owned so there is less incentive to make social and technological advancements. Overall, If Canada is to move forward and improve as a country then the best option is to convert to a Capitalist system.
Canada is one of few countries worldwide that does not use a Capitalist system for healthcare. Compared to other countries, Canada’s healthcare system is in a poor state. Canada has some of the highest wait times for emergency room and major treatments. In Canada the average wait time for the Emergency room is 4.4 hours(Alan and Jennifer) just to be seen plus any treatment times. Compare that to the United States where the national average for Emergency room wait times is 30 minutes to be seen and 90 minutes for treatment(Esposita). Even when specialist treatment wait times are examined Canada is still worse than average. Canadians wait on average 20 weeks to get seen by a specialist, but those times can be as high as 38.8 weeks in some provinces(Barua and Feixue). Whereas, in the United States (a privately funded system) the national average is 9.4 weeks to get seen. This is a result of having Government controlled services which means that the only services that hospitals can provide are those that the Government can afford. Whereas in a privately funded system each hospital can buy the necessary services. It is for these reasons that it is essential that Canada converts to a Capitalist system for healthcare if Canada is going to stay in line with other countries worldwide.
Capitalism is one of the most politically free systems of government second only to anarchy and anarcho-capitalism. It is based on a limited government whose responsibility is to “protect private property rights through the military, police and courts”(Ross). It gives private citizens the ultimate say in most matters concerning them. It requires little taxes and funds in order for government to operate which leaves more funds in the hands of the people and allows them to decide how to properly allocate their money. By doing this it ensures that the Government stays out of people's private lives and focuses only on protecting "...private property rights through the military, police and courts"(Ross).
One of the advantages of a Capitalist system is that industries are not restricted by as many regulations and taxes. This allows businesses to be able to expand without having to pay enormous taxes as a result. For example, during the 2017 Ted Cruz vs. Bernie Sanders healthcare debate, a woman was interviewed who owned a small business of 49 employees and was unable to hire another person because of regulations stating that if she had 50 employees she would have to provide health insurance to them. For a small business such as hers, having to pay for health insurance for 50 people would bankrupt her. Regulations such as this prove seriously detrimental by limiting the improvement and innovation that business can make. This would not occur in a Capitalist country because a regulation like that would not exist, it would be up to the business whether or not to provide healthcare to its employees.
It is clear that Canada must begin to veer away from its socialist tendencies start converting to a more privately-funded system. This will ensure better healthcare for Canadian citizens, as well as grant Canadians more political and economic freedom. This will also promote greater competition between corporations because the primary motivation in a capitalism is greed which drives corporations to find new ways to innovate in order to stay above the rest of the market. Overall, it is evident that in order for Canada to remain relevant and competitive on a global scale, Canada must convert to a Capitalist system of government.
"Americans chose a limited government that exists to protect our rights, not to grant them." -Marco Rubio