Alberta
Province boosts funding to add almost 100,000 CT scans and MRI’s over the next year

From the Province of Alberta
Improving access to MRIs and CT scans
A $33-million one-time commitment from Budget 2021 will drive down wait times for Albertans needing non-emergency CT scans and MRIs in public hospitals and spark innovation to provide the best patient care.
The commitment will support AHS to perform up to 50,000 additional CT (computerized tomography) scans and up to 45,000 additional MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans throughout the province in 2021-22.
This work is part of an aggressive action plan developed by Alberta’s government and AHS to reduce wait times to ensure that by 2023, all Albertans have their CT scans and MRIs done within appropriate wait times recommended by medical experts.
“Albertans need better results from our health-care system, including from MRIs and CT scans that can diagnose their health condition and set them on the path to recovery. This commitment is part of Alberta’s historic investment in health care. We will ensure that all health dollars are spent wisely to support patients and families.”
“Physicians have raised the alarm that long waits put patients at risk – and we couldn’t agree more. Reducing wait times for these medically necessary diagnostic tests is not negotiable. This is why I directed AHS to implement this action plan and to work in partnership with radiologists to find innovative solutions to provide the best patient care with the significant dollars dedicated to this work.”
The additional $33 million will augment the $1 billion Alberta spends each year on diagnostic imaging. This total spend includes ultrasounds, X-rays and mammography, as well as MRIs and CT scans for Albertans.
So far, AHS and its contracted radiologists’ focused work on the action plan has meant fewer people are waiting for CT and MRI scans now compared with March 2020, a trend that will continue over the next two years.
“AHS understands how important it is for patients to receive timely access to diagnostic testing and quick turnaround of results. We are listening to all concerns and are proactively working to improve this very important service for Albertans.”
“Timely access to diagnostic imaging including CT and MRI is an essential component of quality patient care. Imaging plays an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of many medical conditions. Improved access to imaging should lead to improved care.”
“Alberta’s Radiologists welcome this initiative to decrease waitlists for CT and MRI, two critical tools in the overall function of our health-care system. Timely access to all medical imaging and image-guided procedures is so important, now more than ever.”
Alberta Health and AHS developed the CT and MRI Action Plan to address increasingly long wait times, which peaked in 2019-20, and to decrease costs, better manage demand to reduce unnecessary tests, and to make sure the people who most need the tests for treatment decisions will get the scans sooner. The implementation plan uses data to more accurately estimate where demand pressures may occur so that resources can be deployed to respond efficiently.
AHS will reinvest any cost savings achieved through the plan to where they are most needed.
Budget 2021 protects lives and livelihoods with a historic investment in health care while laying the foundation for economic growth. Through the prudent management of tax dollars, Alberta’s government can continue to invest in priority areas to ensure Alberta emerges from COVID-19 stronger than ever.
Quick facts
- Demand for CT scans in Alberta is increasing by five per cent annually, and for MRIs by 3.5 per cent annually.
- If a patient is in an emergency department and needs an urgent scan, they are able to get one quickly. If a patient is in hospital, they are able to get a scan within 24 hours.
- While wait times for patients in hospital or emergency departments are stable and within time frames recommended by medical experts, wait times for outpatients referred for a CT or MRI scan are longer than recommended.
- As of December 2020:
- 44,341 Albertans were waiting for a CT scan, down from 60,181 Albertans waiting in March 2020.
- 79 per cent of urgent out-patients were able to get their CT scans within clinically appropriate wait times.
- 41 per cent of routine out-patients were able to get their CT scans within clinically appropriate wait times.
- 59,614 Albertans were waiting for an MRI, down from 66,183 Albertans waiting in March 2020.
- 75 per cent of urgent out-patients were able to get their MRIs within clinically appropriate wait times.
- 55 per cent of routine out-patients were able to get their CT scans within clinically appropriate wait times.
- 44,341 Albertans were waiting for a CT scan, down from 60,181 Albertans waiting in March 2020.
Alberta
Telus Corp. marks opening of Telus Sky in downtown Calgary

CALGARY — Telus Corp. marked the opening of its new 60-storey Calgary headquarters on Wednesday.
The new $400-million skyscraper, Telus Sky, has been in development for nine years and is now the third-tallest building in downtown Calgary. It features 750,000 square feet of office and retail space as well as 326 rental homes.
The building’s eye-catching design, by architects Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and Dialog, along with developer partner Westbank and Allied, starts with a rectangular floorplate and then gradually twists as it rises.
Integrated into the facade of Telus Sky is Canada’s largest public art display. “Northern Lights” by Canadian author and artist, Douglas Coupland, creates a light show across the building’s exterior.
Telus Sky will be home to more than 1,600 Telus employees. It joins TELUS Garden in Vancouver, TELUS Harbour Toronto, TELUS House Ottawa, and Place TELUS Québec as one of the company’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum-certified buildings.
Among the building’s environmental features is a storm water management system that recycles rainwater for use in washroom toilets, reducing the building’s municipal water demand by 70 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2022.
Companies in this story: (TSX:T)
Amanda Stephenson, The Canadian Press
Alberta
First set of tickets for Pope’s mass in Edmonton booked within minutes

EDMONTON — Thousands of tickets for the Pope’s open-air mass at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium were all booked about 15 minutes after they were made available to the public for free.
The July 26 mass with Pope Francis is part of his six-day Canadian tour, which also includes stops in Quebec City and Iqaluit.
Neil McCarthy, a spokesperson for the papal visit, says organizers were hopeful the first block of 16,000 tickets would be booked immediately because the impact of the event cannot be underestimated.
A total of 65,000 people can attend the mass at the football stadium.
McCarthy says if people haven’t been able to book a seat, they can do so on two other days later this month, when the remaining blocks of free tickets will be made available.
Organizers divided the booking process for the mass over three days, because they say it is easier to manage and want to prioritize some Indigenous people who want to attend.
“We’ve got seating allocations for Indigenous participation, whether it’s residential school survivors, elders, knowledge keepers or those who are supporting them,” McCarthy said Wednesday.
“Today was a very, very positive start to the day. People really want to be with him.”
The Pope is to arrive in Edmonton on July 24. The next day, he is to meet survivors and visit the site of the former Ermineskin Residential School in Maskwacis, about 80 km south of Edmonton.
He is scheduled to arrive in Quebec City on July 27 and stop in Iqaluit on July 29.
The Pope’s visit comes after he apologized in April to Indigenous delegates at the Vatican for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in Canada’s residential schools and the intergenerational trauma it caused.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2022.
The Canadian Press
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