I heard Canada has free health care and college....?

Question

and that it is a lot better of a system then the USA. They give you paid time off after a baby, buy a car for you if you dont have one... can someone enlighten me on this please? Thanks.

Answer 1

Hey there:)

We do have free healthcare thank goodness!!
ANd you can get student loans for college but its not free unfortunately
We get paid time off after a baby paid through unemployment but you have to had worked a certain aount of hours first..
As far as I know you cant get a car though my sister is 23 with 2 kids 6 and 3 and she doesnt have a car.
We get baby bonus here a monthly amount paid (based on income) for your kids and a universal $100.00 for each kid under 6 (regaurdless of income) and we get the working family supplement to help with child care costs (based on what you pay for babysitting and income)

I dont know if this helped but I am sure you could google this stuff if it didnt :) Jody

Answer 2

Although low cost, health care in Canada is not free. Depending on the province you live in you pay a fee each month although it is significantly lower than in the US. In BC a single person pays $54 per month although not all costs are covered.

You have to pay for University/College tuition although some provinces supplement this to varying degrees and there are options depending on the university or college you attend.

After having a baby you are entitled to maternity leave through EI (Employment Insurance) although there is a minimum hours worked requirement. There is also a Child Tax Benefit paid for each child under 18 years of age and a bonus for children under 7.

and sorry, no, there are no free cars.

Answer 3

College is subsidized so that student tuition is THOUSANDS of dollars instead of like in the US where it is TENS of THOUSANDS of dollars. But try talking to a starving student and see if they think it is lower.

We don't have free health care, we have Universal Health Care Insurance. Slightly different from province to province, it basically means the average person pays the health fees/insurance premiums, but those that can't afford it still get medical attention.

There is extra paid time for having a baby for both parents. Seemed extreme at the time, but now we have full employment and with retiring baby boomers there will be a labour shortage, and this benefit may be a good incentive to keep parents working.

Answer 4

We do not have free health care - we pay taxes that pays some of our medical needs. Personally I pay for prescriptions, optical, dental, etc. Most people with a full time permanent job have health benefits that cover off what our taxes don't pay for.

College is not free, just the opposite in fact. College is very expensive and is up to the student to pay for through parental assistance or (usually) student loans.

We do get up to 1 year off work for maternity leave. This is paid through Employment Insurance which the individual pays into every pay cheque. During that year off the individual only receives 55% of the wage that they were earning.

I can't even guess why the US system is how it is.

Answer 5

I dont know why america has a system so shabby as it does, we in australia have 2 options go private and pay a HUGE amount of $ or go public and pay nothing, you get the same doctors, same nurses, but you may have to share a room with another patient when you go public, infact 75% of all hospitals in australia are publically funded.

So i agree our healthcare system is alot better than the theiving, corrpupt american system.

i would expect the worlds greatest super power (america) would be able to afford to look after its own citizens after all a healthy population is a hard working population which means more taxes, stronger economy, and over all happier nation.

i guess the government just doesnt care.

btw nixon demolished the american public heath care system in return for a % of a certain health care company and a certain amount of "donations" into his parties fundraising account.

i think it was nixon maybe it was regan......
either way it was a shabby degenerate thing to do, especially for a country with such a high percentage of unemployed and people living just above the poverty line

Answer 6

Hmmm, no, I believe you're thinking of Western Europe, where they actually have GOOD government that takes care of its people-(except for a free car... that would never happen anywhere)
Actually, our health system in Canada, which used to be amazing, is now suffering greatly despite our strong economy- bureaucracy and mismanagement has cannibalized it. Interesting that Canada is now the highest taxed country on earth, with a fairly small population, yet we can't seem to provide acceptable health care, nor free education, unlike European countries with similar overall living standards that do so... But then, North America is world-reknowned for being incredibly short-sighted.

Answer 7

We do NOT have free health care or college.

Our taxes pay our health care plus some provinces, like Alberta pay health insurance premiums every month.

We pay for university out of our own pockets just like everyone else.

Answer 8

Canada, like all of the industrialized countries in the world except the US, provides guaranteed health care for its citizens.

It has subsidies for college, but does not provide it for free.