Danny Williams going to U.S. for heart surgery

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams is set to undergo heart surgery this week in the United States.

CBC News confirmed Monday that Williams, 60, left the province earlier in the day and will have surgery later in the week.

Williams travels to U.S. for heart surgery

The heart and soul of Newfoundland politics is in for repair – and it’s not in his home province or even in Canada, for that matter.

Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams is scheduled for heart surgery in the United States, a move that throws into question his province’s and his nation’s health-care system.

A source confirmed to The Globe and Mail late Monday that Mr. Williams has left St. John’s for an undisclosed destination in the U.S. to have heart surgery later in the week.

The 59-year-old Conservative left Monday morning, spokeswoman Elizabeth Matthews said, without disclosing his location. While some of his critics were tight-lipped Monday night, the online public questioned his exodus – why the care he needed was not available in Canada, or whether he preferred treatment in the U.S.

I don’t really care if wealthy (and he is) Canadians want to come to the US and pay cash for medical procedures. That’s their business. I just don’t want to hear how health care in the US should be more like that in Canada. After all, if we do that, where will wealthy Canadians be able to go for good health care?