Toronto family forced to pay to bring uncle’s body back after hospital transfer | COVID-19 in Canada

A grieving family had to pay to bring a loved one's body home after a COVID-19 hospital transfer hours away. Omar Sachedina explains.

#cdnpoli

Subscribe to CTV News to watch more videos:

Connect with CTV News:
For the latest news visit:
For a full video offering visit the CTV News Network:
CTV News on Facebook:
CTV News on Twitter:
Watch CTV News on Twitter:
CTV News on Google+:
CTV News on Instagram:
CTV News on Pinterest:


CTV News is Canada's most-watched news organization both locally and nationally, and has a network of national, international, and local news operations.

37 comments

    1. @james brennenman As you see… everything isn’t covered. As an adult how the Canadian health care system works.

    2. @Klas6ix just because we are taxed into oblivion… doesn’t mean everything in the healthcare system is covered. Ask a near by adult to help you understand. Not sure I have enough time or crayons to explain it to you.

    3. @Caleb B Learn how the healthcare system works. Taxes don’t make everything in life free. You live in a liberal fantasy world.

  1. Rest in Paradise Mr. Nguyen and my condolences to the Nguyen family . 🙏🏼🙏🏽🙏🏻 this & any life lost to Covid should have never happened if the government stopped allowing inbound flights and any entry into Canada from last year. Rest in peace to all who have fallen 👊🏼🙏🏼

  2. My mother was hospitalised for almost half a year. She has Type One diabetes and transferred four times. Was told that The capacity at hospital was full time and time again and she kept on getting transferred somewhere else. The bill was way more than this family. When I raised the issues that such bills should be non existent due to the fact of a pandemic filling up capacity I was told I would still have to pay.

    1. I know an American couple right this very minute, facing a $340,000 bill….. that’s…. _three HUNDRED and FORTY_ thousand USD dollars for a bone marrow transplant to save their loved ones life.
      Their health ‘insurance’ won’t cover the cost.
      We take much for granted here in Canada.

    2. my Father had diabetes as well, he went to the hospital with hiccups last fall, three days later i had to pay 500 dollars to Reynars Funeral home of dawson creek BC to take my deceased father a half a mile in a cardboard box by cab that they reuse to the funeral home to be cremated which cost over 4k dollars, oddly enough, the total amount to get him cremated was, not fukin joking, 10 cents off what he had totaled in his bank account and what he would of got from the gov for dying and his last pension check, basic no frills cremation, no nothing just cremation, over 4k, too this day no word on why Father died, all i get is Covid this and Covid that, talk to this person here, or that person there, a big fukin run around.

    3. @Hippy Harry Thats bad. But we are Canada, we pride ourselves in FREE HEALTHCARE. If it isnt actually free and there are surprise chargers, its not really free. Im 100% fine with spending a few extra billion dollars if it ensures we get FREE HEALTHCARE. We are not the USA, which have a lot of other perks that they trade for healthcare, we dont get those perks.

  3. I would charge them (the hospital) the same exact amount for transferring patient to Ottawa.
    Rest in peace.

    1. So the patient could die more swiftly instead? Have you ever once in your life tried using your brain? Do you have one?

  4. If it was involuntary it should be covered, given that the charge was based on mileage, which was incurred at the discretion of health authorities.

  5. I experienced this same thing when my son John died in Ottawa Hospital in 2012. I had to hire an Upper Ottawa Valley undertaker to handle my beloved son’s remains. No Toronto undertaker would handle this. My condolences to the Nguyen family, Rest in Peace now Mr. Nguyen.

  6. Uncle’s family should get reimbursement or waive the fee for the cost of air transportation to any hospital and returning. My condolences to his family and friends.

    1. Why is he special? This kind of thing has happened to all the other families if their relative had to be moved.

  7. Who was willing to take a 500 km trip to transfer ppl that are covid positive, but can’t be willing to use medicine shown to improve covid outcomes in a local setting in his hometown?

  8. Something similar happened to me (in Ontario) and I also had to pay per mileage for my daughter to be transferred from one facility to an other. Fortunately, my daughter survived. I was grateful for the efforts of the health officials, who did what they felt was best given my daughter’s precarious condition. I am sorry that this gentleman didn’t make it out alive.

  9. when my dad had C19, some how he savvied , we have to pay 800 get him back to his LTC from hospital. which is around 3km away. (he has to go back on a bed)

  10. WHY WAS HE TRSNPORTED TO OTTAWA WHEN WE HAVE ALL THESE MOBLIE HOSPITALS IN PLACE, HERE IN TORONTO AT THE HOSPTAILS PARKING LOTS?

  11. This is so incredibly unjust. I am so sorry for this family. I’m so emotional right now. Bless your family and may you find peace.

  12. They should send the bill to father Justin. (Just in) case I will send money. What is their address or where can I make a donation?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.