Yes, Canada has universal health care, but what most Americans don't know is that most Canadians also have private health care on top of that. Private health insurance covers all sorts of nice perks like up to $500 in reimbursement for massages (as long as the it was done by a Registered Massage Therapist). This is why your average cost of an hour long massage is $80-90. Yeesh!
As a last minute gift from a friend, I got a free massage anywhere I like. The only place that I was able to make an appointment at Ici Paris.
While the RMT was a nice lady, the fact that she was a little old grandmother warned me that I wasn't going to get anything good. At that age, only Chinese grandmothers know how to give a good massage. I asked for the Swedish massage and her idea of a Swedish massage was mostly just rubbing her hands up and down my body. No pressure. Very little kneading. Essentially not a massage.
I had to pay tax on top of the $85, the cost of the massage was $96.05. Close to a $100 for a lousy massage.
Another word of warning, another lady was making an appointment for a bikini wax. The associate making the appointment told the lady that a Brazilian bikini wax could take up to an hour.
I almost keeled over. A Brazilian should NEVER take that long. (What are they doing? Tweezing each individual hair out?!?!) If it does, it means the waxer has no idea what they're doing and you should RUN!