As someone who was born in Canada, lived there for over 30 years, and was a practicing health care professional before moving to the USA I have had experience in both systems. (I no longer practice in the US but I do research into access and quality of care in the US.)

While neither system is "perfect" neither are they totally "wrong". Both of them can not continue on the development path that they are currently on ... it is unsustainable because of the expense.

Yes there are waiting lists in Canada, where you end up on the list depends upon how sick you are. For example, a couple of years ago my 40 yo BIL ended up in the hospital because he collapsed at home (in Canada). The first thing they did was a MRI and it turns out he had a beign tumour and they operated that night (he is fine today). If he had gone into the MD and said he had a headache he would not have received the MRI or emergency surgery, but then again it is unlikely he would have received an MRI here either. He might have been put on a waiting list if he had chronic headaches of unknown origin, but he was sick enough to skip to the top of the list and receive the care he needed with no copayments or deductibles.

If he had been in the US, he would have also received immediate care if he was admitted into the hospital, but he likely would not have had insurance because he is a real estate agent. This means that he would have had to pay the full cost of everything. Even if he did have insurance he would have copayments or deductibles.

In Canada you wait based on how ill you are, while in the US you wait based on how good your insurance is or how much money you have. Which is fair?