Canadian News reports:

OTTAWA — The country’s top court has delivered a powerful blow to Canada’s single-tier system of public health care, striking down a Quebec law that banned private insurance for medically necessary services.

Most experts, on either side of the debate, predicted the decision will lead to a parallel private system. But the federal government insisted there’s nothing to worry about.

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled Thursday that the Quebec ban on private insurance violates Quebec’s charter of rights.

The Canadian Medical Association called it a “historic” ruling that could “fundamentally change the health-care system in Canada as we now know it.”

What caused such a ruling you ask?

The case involved Quebec doctor Jacques Chaoulli and his patient George Zeliotis who argued that the ban on buying private insurance for health care infringed on Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well as the Quebec Charter of Rights.

Zeliotis said his year-long wait for a hip replacement in 1997 violated his right to life, liberty and security under the Canadian charter, and a similar guarantee in the Quebec charter.

Update: Walter Williams has more.