Nova Scotia Health Card. Cropped to remove my birthdate.

Last month, I traveled to Ontario from my home province of Nova Scotia to attend an Interim Ministry Training event. It became apparent on the second day that I was going to need to make a trip to a walk in clinic. I googled the closest one, someone offered me the use of their vehicle, as I had come by plane, and off I went.

I signed in, went through triage, on to administration with my Nova Scotia Health Card, then to testing, then to an examining room, where I saw the doctor, who upon reviewing the results of the test, gave me a prescription for the antibiotic I needed. At no time in this process, was I given a bill or felt as if I was burdening Ontario’s health care system.I left, grateful that I live in Canada, where my health needs were not determined by my ability to pay.

This is the system that we cherish, despite its challenges and wait times. This is the system that says we are all entitled to care no matter our station is life. This is the system that Tommy Douglas envisioned for Canada. On this Canadian Thanksgiving Weekend, I am thankful for his leadership and vision.