Despite the frequent portrayal of Canada’s health care system as something Americans should aspire to, the country’s political leadership sure appears to be keen on dismantling it. Nearly forty years after the passage of the Canada Health Act, Canadian health care is on life support.

In early February of this year, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the leaders of Canada’s provinces agreed to a Can$46.2 billion funding package to help shore up the shaky finances of Canada’s public health care system. Speaking on behalf of the Council of the Federation — a group representing Canada’s provinces — Manitoba premier Heather Stefanson said that while she and her provincial colleagues agreed to the funding agreement, it was nonetheless “not a long-term solution to the health-care funding that is needed within our country.”

Canada’s premiers want far more federal government funding for health care, and they want far fewer strings attached. Given that several provinces are already experimenting with increased private sector involvement, there’s considerable concern across Canada that these additional funds will be used to subsidize the privatization of health care. There’s ample evidence that this is already occurring. The archconservative government of Ontario premier Doug Ford has already begun outsourcing certain surgeries to what are colloquially referred to as “Independent Health Facilities” — a euphemism for private, for-profit clinics. This practice has been widely criticized, both by Ontario’s College of Physicians and Surgeons (which notes that private clinics fall short on patient safety), as well as the province’s auditor general, which reports widespread abuses of patients, including aggressive upselling and deceptive sales pitches.