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Because liberal Americans see us, in this age of Trump, as an oasis of sanity in a worldwide desert of populism, The New York Times is doing more reporting on Canada, presumably so its U.S. readers don’t lose all hope that saner choices could be available in an alternative world.

It also offers a weekly “Canada letter” on worthwhile and actually sometimes interesting Canadian initiatives. Recently the letter reported on a health-care tournament the Times organized in which five experts decided which of eight rich countries had the best health-care system.

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We didn’t win. In fact, we went out in the first round, losing to Britain, which then lost to Switzerland, which ultimately beat France, though only by three votes to two in the final. Other first-round losers were Singapore, Australia and Germany. The U.S. made it to the semis where it was beaten by France, three votes to two.

We did not win. In fact, we went out in the first round, losing to Britain

How come our “best in the world” health-care system fizzled in the first round? Wait times. Explained professor of paediatrics Aaron E. Carroll and health economist Austin Frakt, the U.S. experts the Times relied on: “only 43 per cent of Canadians were able to see a doctor or nurse on the same or next day when they needed care… Half of them had to wait two or more hours for care in the emergency room… 30 per cent of them had to wait two or more months to see a specialist … and 18 per cent had to wait four or more months for elective surgery.” These figures are all according to an international comparison published by the Commonwealth Fund, which does world-leading research on health policy. On three of those metrics we were dead last among 11 countries the fund surveyed, and on the fourth we were tied for last.