After years working in critical care, I’ve become convinced of something:

Canada does not simply have a healthcare crisis.

We have a prevention crisis and an access crisis.

First, we need to dramatically rethink prevention.

During the pandemic, I cared for countless patients in the ICU living with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension. These conditions significantly increased vulnerability and worsened outcomes.

Yet despite this, our system continues to invest overwhelmingly in treating illness after it appears rather than helping people stay healthy in the first place.

That model is failing.

Second, we need better access to primary care.

In my own city, nearly 1 in 5 people do not have access to a family physician. When people cannot access primary care, the entire system absorbs the consequences through overcrowded emergency departments, delayed diagnoses, and worsening chronic disease.

There are solutions.

One we should be talking about far more is national physician licensure.

Today, if I want to help patients in British Columbia, despite being fully trained and licensed in Ontario, I can wait 6–8 weeks for approval.

At a time when millions of Canadians struggle to access care, why are we making it harder for physicians to help patients across provincial borders?

We do not lack solutions.

We lack urgency.

Prevention and access are two of the biggest challenges facing Canadian healthcare today.

Both are solvable.

The question is whether we are willing to rethink the system itself.

What changes do you believe would have the greatest impact?