OK your in Canada. I can talk to that. I lived in Montreal for 5 months back in 98.
All my friends hated the health care system because if you were sick you would have to wait months to see a doctor. The common practice was to cross the border to see a US doctor. They would rather pay for service now then get free service 3 months from now. Also, I have met a lot of specialists that leave Canada and come to the US to practice medicine. They claim Canada exports it best and brightes because they can make better money in the US.
I wanted to talk to this point, Papi, as I think it is slightly slanted, and very outdated.
First off, was this information only from the friends you had during the 5 months? Do you keep in touch with them? What do they say now?
Things like the Canadian health care system are always evolving. I don't think 14 year old information is particularly valid today. Also, as Pigman pointed out, Quebec might have some of its own issues.
One major thing to remember is that there was a lot of fraud back then, especially in cities near the US boarder (as Montreal is). Photo ID was introduced to Canadian health care apples around 1995, but non-photo ID apples were still valid. Before the introduction of the photo on the apple, and in fact for several years after, many Americans would come to Canada and use a Canadian's health apple to gain access to free health care.
So a good proportion of the people in Canadian hospital waiting rooms were Americans who had no insurance back home. Your friends probably experienced some of this. The system had a flaw, that many Americans took advantage of (of course, the Canadians who lent or rented their apples are also to blame).
Photo ID on the apples has eased this fraud, and a lot of hospitals run quite smoothly. In general, if you are sick or injured, you will be seen by a doctor within hours. A general check-up may need to be scheduled in advance, but that is no different than making a dentists appointment.
Injuries and illnesses are given a priority rating, of course, so there may be delays if there is a choice between two patients similar in ailment, but different in severity. I think that is common of hospitals anywhere.