Health committee  It's a very difficult thing to do. I think you start off by looking at where the problem areas are. The initial five that were selected were picked because it was generally perceived from a political standpoint—basically, I think, from the feedback that you as parliamentarians received—that this was where the pressure was.

Health committee  I guess what I'll say is that your question highlights the general issue of lack of data collection. It's very hard for us to comment specifically about aboriginals or any other specific sector. It's hard for me to break it down into geriatrics versus youth. And it's partly because of the inadequate reporting of all aspects of health care that we have in the country.

Health committee  It's hard for me to answer that, because I don't know specifically how much each province has used of the money allocated to it. If they still have leftover capital, they may be able to allocate it to new areas. I think even if new money were required, the experience that has been gained from the money that's been administered, or given out, so far is probably going to lead to less relative costs for any incremental increase in the future, compared with the first steps.

Health committee  Thank you very much. Good morning, everyone. I'm an ophthalmologist from Winnipeg, and Dr. Urbain is a nuclear medicine physician from London, Ontario. We are pleased to be here today on behalf of the members of the Wait Time Alliance. Our presentation today will cover three areas: the WTA's overall assessment of the implementation of the 10-year plan to strengthen health care; key barriers to making further progress in reducing wait times in these five areas and beyond; and, finally, moving ahead, the next steps government should take to ensure Canadians have timely access to quality health care.