Federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel is warning Alberta that its new dual-practice health-care model may run afoul of the Canada Health Act.

Michel told the Toronto Star she is troubled by Alberta's reforms and doesn't see how allowing doctors to practise in both the public and private systems can operate within federal law.

But the argument over jurisdiction and the Canada Health Act risks obscuring the more immediate question facing patients: should an Albertan who needs surgery be required to remain on a waiting list if they are willing and able to obtain that treatment another way?

Alberta's Health Statutes Amendment Act, 2025 (No. 2) allows physicians to work in the publicly funded system while also providing privately paid services under separate billing rules. The legislation received royal assent in December.

The province argues the approach can increase patient choice and capacity while preserving universal access to medically necessary care. When introducing the legislation, Alberta pointed to dual-practice arrangements in other jurisdictions, including Quebec and New Brunswick.

There is nothing inherently patriotic about waiting longer for medical treatment simply because Ottawa prefers a particular model of delivering it.

Canada's health-care system should ultimately be judged by whether patients receive timely, high-quality treatment, not whether every province organizes that treatment identically.

Albertans shouldn't be expected to sit on a waiting list out of misplaced loyalty to a system that isn't providing them timely care. And in an independent Alberta, they won't.