When we last spoke to Nadeem Esmail in October 2007 regarding a report on efforts to reduce hospital wait times in Canada, the results were less than stellar.: wait times remained a major problem and barrier for prompt care. The Fraser Institute’s annual report on hospital wait times, the 19th edition of Waiting Your Turn: Hospital Waiting Lists in Canada reports that Canadians seeking surgical or other therapeutic treatment are enduring a median wait time of 16.1 weeks, roughly the same delay they experienced in 2000-2001. The result is disappointing because of the substantial increases in health care spending since then.

• Nadeem Esmail, Director of Health System Performance Studies, Fraser Institute