You'd probably have to wait until you'd been resident for six months.

I think you are eligible straight away as long as you can prove you intend to live there as main residence.

yes, as long as you are resident

Are you taking up or resuming permanent residence in the UK?

On the other hand:

Are you coming to the United Kingdom on holiday or to visit relatives?
[emphases mine]
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No, I'm not. I assuming that he's filing his tax return in Canada legally, on his global income and claiming the deduction for the tax withheld at source which he is due under the UK-Canada tax treaty.

You may expect it, but you would have no right to do it and would be abusing the NHS to the detriment of British residents.

Rules are clear. However if you were in the uk on holiday, and needed to see a doctor - would you pay, or just use relatives address?
Come on, be honest about it. I really don't think it's a big deal..

If you need emergency treatment that's free to anyone regardless of residency.

Exactly - So he's paying tax in both uk and Canada then

Oh sure, I'd use it. But then I'd also mug someone's grandmother if I needed the money for a pint.

You get travel insurance dont you, and claim on that. Simple

It is a big deal. Its dishonest.

Jeez, what part of this don't you understand?

Tell that to the birds, (UK, Canadian , US, French variety whichever you choose). In the UK and Canada the questions would be asked after the emergency was dealt with, in the US this is distinctly less likely. But either way it won't be "free".

Tax at source in uk = tax to uk government
Tax in Canada = tax on worldwide income less amount taxed at source in uk
so he's paying tax in two countries.

It's quite simple

A&E is free, apparently:

http://www.nnuh.nhs.uk/Dept.asp?ID=364

I stand corrected.

According to the NHS website, treatment in hospital emergency departments and in walk-in clinics is free.

However, if a visitor to the UK is admitted to a hospital for ongoing treatment, medical service ceases to be free.

When you're admitted to a hospital as an inpatient, you have to pay. The definition on an inpatient includes someone who has emergency surgery.

My reading of the NHS's website regarding visitors to the UK is that treatment in the emergency department or in a walk-in clinic is free. But, as soon as you enter the hospital for ongoing treatment (and that includes having emergency surgery), you are charged.

There's an element of risk in going to the UK without medical insurance, isn't there? I mean you may be able to scam your parents' family doctor, but are you going to be able to pull the wool over the eyes of hospital staff if you have an accident and need surgery? I've never needed medical treatment during my visits to the UK, but I'd be surprised if you could hide the fact that you were a visitor if you had surgery and stayed in hospital for a while.

Here is a previous thread about a child who had an accident and needed surgery while he was visiting the UK. The child's mother was a British citizen who still had an NHS number from the time that she'd lived in the UK. But, when hospital officials plugged her number into the system, there was no trace of her. Although her son was a British citizen, he didn't have an NHS number. The NHS charged the mother for the surgery.
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