Almost since the day the pandemic began, provincial leaders have promised more hospital and ICU capacity. They've promised hundreds of beds, thousands of beds...and two years later, only a fraction of the promised amount are available, and our hospitals are still at the breaking point during every wave. How was Canada's health care system set up to fail? Why haven't we been able to meaningfully fix it?

Like it or not, at some point there will be a discussion about letting the private sector pick up some slack, if only because it's necessary to keep Canadians alive. If Canadians don't want to go down that road, then something has to change, and quickly.

GUEST: Justin Ling, writing for Maclean's

We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:

Through email at [email protected] 

Or @thebigstory.bsky.social on Bluesky