Palin admits family used Canada's health care system in Yukon

Calgary - Over the weekend, Sarah Palin admitted her family used Canada's health care system in the Yukon Territory when she was growing up during the 1960s.

In the past, former Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin criticized Canada over its health care system. But now, in a speech on Saturday in Calgary, Palin admitted she and her family used the country’s health care system, while growing up in Alaska, according to the Los Angeles Times. During the 1960s, the family of Sarah Palin used to travel from Skagway, Alaska to Whitehorse, Yukon to receive health care. Then, her parents would take the children on a train and rush them immediately to Whitehorse. According to Globe and Mail, Palin finds that "ironic." “Believe it or not – this was in the '60s – we used to hustle on over the border for health care that we would receive in Whitehorse. I remember my brother, he burned his ankle in some little kid accident thing and my parents had to put him on a train and rush him over to Whitehorse and I think, isn't that kind of ironic now. Zooming over the border, getting health care from Canada.” The Vancouver Sun points out criticism in the United States media over Palin’s comments: Daily Kos called Palin “hypocritical” and “opportunistic,” while Gawker.com made a comment in jest that said the Palins “sent him to Canada for socialism.” However, the Conservative publication Reason.com defended Palin’s comments and said Canada’s health care system was in its early years during the 1960s so it wasn’t the case of choosing between private and public health care. Palin is scheduled to speak in Hamilton, ON next month.