from Statistics Canada, the official government source, reporting on 2003, which was one-two years before the FY 2004-2005 implementation of the ten-year improvement plan :
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-575-x/2003001/4151078-eng.htmAccess to health care services in Canada, 2003
Analytical report
Highlights:
* The HSAS provides timely data regarding patients’ experiences accessing health care services including waiting times for specialized services. Most importantly, the information, in most cases, is provided at the provincial level, thus allowing for a comprehensive assessment of access to care across Canada.
* Overall, most individuals reported waiting 3 months or less for specialized services: close to 90% for specialist visit and diagnostic tests and slightly over 80% for non-emergency surgery.
* The median waiting times for specialized services was 4.0 weeks for specialist visits, 4.3 weeks for non-emergency surgery, and 3.0 weeks for diagnostic tests.
Those averages don't sound that bad in comparison to what we have here and that data is before the recent efforts to reduce waiting times.