Health care in Canada sucks as far as wait times for hospital, surgery and tests, but you always have the option of paying for a private doctor and I can get an MRI or CT scan ( private clinic) the same day if I want, it is just a matter of $$$. not much different than in the US if you count the huge insurance costs.
Luckily I have a family doctor who lists a few emergency appointment availabilities each week so I can basically see her usually within 2 days sometimes same day, regular appointments I can schedule 1-2 weeks and this can be done online.
Yeah the private option is always available. I'm lucky enough that I could afford it and my health insurance through work paid 80% of the CT scan I needed not too long ago. I managed to get a scan at a private clinic within a few days. Soon after, I got an MRI in the public system fairly quickly, but only because of connections. A friend knew the right person to get me in quickly.
A few months later, the surgeon requested another MRI and when I went to register, the receptionist mentioned I was in the system for a CT scan. The request was entered months prior. It was the original one my family doctor had entered into the public system.
All this to say that the public system is a joke. We pay thousands into it via taxes. We should not have to pay AGAIN so we can cut in front of the line. We should have the services available quickly. The feds are to blame for a lot of it since they opened the borders for everyone. All kinds of leaches have infected our country and they need to be gotten rid of. Hospitals and other public services can't keep up and are poorly managed to begin with.