We have licensed naturopaths here in Ontario, but they will not be allowed to exceed the CDC/IDSA guidelines for abx usage. They are still petitioning the use of abx - our naturopath won't discuss this with me. Our Ontario healthcare will not pay for using a naturopath. Some benefit packages will allow visits, but only to a point.
Whenever we cross the border to see our LLMD in Buffalo the guards frequently ask why I would need to seek treatment in the US when Canadian healthcare is freely available to everyone. I then explain that Canadian doctors are not allowed to treat as they might see fit. They then respond that perhaps the US healthcare system is not so bad.
I agree with using alternative treatment as a way to maintain health, but so many people don't understand this. It is too alternative to be comfortable for many, and it doesn't help that our own trusted family doctors see nathuropaths, herbalists and chiropractors as bogus practitioners.
I am now far ahead of our LLMD on the use of herbs. Not just the couple of the Cowden and ByronWhite supplements that she uses, but using herbs in a comprehensive (synergistic :) ) protocol. The need for the anti-inflammatory, immune boosting and detoxing actions of the plants/supplements. She uses herbs for their antibiotic properties only because as an MD, that is how she was taught to think.
When people are really sick with these infections, the first help they usually seek is through an MD. It is a long road that needs to be travelled between using abx and then herbals and then to other alternatives. I admit that I haven't gotten past the herbal stage yet, but I'm getting there. If the LLMDs were taken away, I'm afraid many wouldn't find their way to the alternative treatments because they would be too sick to even think.