In a groundbreaking opinion piece, Rahel Almaw, an Ethiopian-Canadian and a leading voice in health research, shines a spotlight on the urgent need for standardized race-based data collection in Canada's healthcare system. Almaw's research, centered on the intersection of health and race, reveals the harsh realities faced by Black and other racialized individuals living with osteoarthritis (OA) in Canada. Almaw's poignant narrative exposes the hardships endured by OA patients, particularly those from marginalized communities, who not only grapple with the physical pain of their condition but also the emotional anguish of being overlooked and underserved by healthcare providers. Drawing upon alarming statistics from the United States, Almaw underscores the pressing necessity of confronting systemic racism within Canada's healthcare infrastructure. Crucially, Almaw highlights the profound deficiency in data collection, lamenting the absence of insights into the lived experiences of Black and racialized OA patients in Canada. This data gap, she argues, reflects the systemic failure of the healthcare system to deliver equitable care to all individuals, regardless of race or ethnicity. Almaw's impassioned call for change stems from her extensive research journey, which commenced in the Mobilize Clinical Biomechanics Lab at the University of Waterloo. Through her co-op experiences, she has discovered her purpose: championing equitable healthcare for all Canadians. Almaw's vision for a fairer healthcare system rests on four foundational pillars: standardized race-based data collection, personalized care, validation of patient experiences, and enhanced representation of Black and racialized communities within the healthcare workforce. As Canada grapples with the imperative of forging a more equitable healthcare system, Almaw's insights serve as a guiding light, urging policymakers, healthcare professionals, and society at large to confront and dismantle the systemic barriers that perpetuate inequality in healthcare delivery.