In case anyone else is in the same boat as I am, with a huge surgery fee and no other way to fund it, this may help.
The Canadian government passed legislation last July that allows locked in pension funds (LIRAs & LIFs) to be taken out for medical needs or financial hardship. You can take out 100% for the medical, and a maximum of $22,500 for financial hardship. It is still liable for tax withholding of 10-30%, but it is a new way to fund a surgery if necessary.
I posted in another thread that I thought this was going to be a god-send to me, until I found out that so much has been lost in the current market that I still don't have enough to go to my preferred surgeon. But the market is coming back up, so there is still hope
You can PM for more details if you like.
Just thought I would pass that on to other Canucks