Former U.S. president Bill Clinton is expressing hope that his country will follow Canada's lead and adopt a publicly-funded health care system.
A joke-cracking, vivacious Clinton took the stage at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto on schedule Saturday afternoon, only hours after appearing at the Boston funeral of U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy.
Using examples from town hall meetings held across the U.S., Clinton tried to explain why his country was so reluctant to change the way it delivers health care.
Clinton said in the U.S., there were "incentives to keep people misinformed and full of fear."
Clinton also addressed the divide between people living in urban areas and people in poverty-stricken rural communities like those in Canada's north, calling it "a pattern repeated throughout the world."
Organizers had originally intended to sell 25,000 tickets to fill BMO Field, where Clinton was speaking, but scaled down the capacity of the stadium to about 10,000 after it became clear it would not sell out.
It forced organizers to push tickets for just $5 on top of regular CNE admission. Tickets were originally between $20 and $50.
Still, Saturday's crowd was the largest Clinton had ever addressed in Canada.
The former president spoke for about half an hour before taking questions.
Some CP24 viewers sent in complaints, saying they bought $15 admission to the CNE solely to see Clinton's speech, only to find it had sold out after the stadium modification.
The viewers say they were offered a refund by mail or free passes.
