These are real-life scenes playing out in Canada's emergency rooms. This means longer wait-times both to see a doctor and to get a bed when a patient is admitted, Burnell explained. Doctors in Alberta have called for the province to declare a state of emergency over the overcrowding affecting emergency rooms, calling the situation a "crisis state." "Emergency rooms become the conduit through which all these other issues flow," he said. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)In 2007, CBC reported on emergency rooms "bursting at the seams."

Source: CBC News March 13, 2026 21:41 UTC