Canada has public and private insurance, something like a birth would be covered under public insurance. We just don't think of it as 'insurance' really, since we can't opt out, it comes out of our taxes, and is bought by health Canada rather than a separate plan.

There are also private health insurance plans that cover things not covered by the public insurance, optometrists and dentists fall under that category as do most paramedicals. When Canadians talk about 'health insurance' we're typically referring to the private kind.

That's a good point. I have never perceived it as insurance. To me it's just like having roads or a fire department.

Social medicine system paid for it all. For every ultrasound and Obgyn visit we just show our health card. For the birth in a hospital we just show our health card.

I assume they mean that they used the publicly funded insurance so did not have to claim anything.