'The canary is dead': Frontline staff on Alberta's ER crisis

One stretcher. More than 80 patients waiting. Paramedics arriving with patients while admitted patients await transfer. That was the reality for registered nurse Jayme Hack during a recent shift at Edmonton’s Royal Alexandra Hospital. Along with colleague Valerie Evanishen, she offers a frontline view of the relentless pressure inside one of Alberta’s busiest emergency rooms. ER physician and former politician Dr. Raj Sherman puts it bluntly: ERs are the canary in the coal mine and “the canary is dead.” He says we can, and should, do better when it comes to emergency medicine. This is an extended version of the radio broadcast.

You can listen to 'The canary is dead': Frontline staff on Alberta's ER crisis online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

'The canary is dead': Frontline staff on Alberta's ER crisis is an episode from White Coat, Black Art on CBC Radio by CBC.

This episode is 00:33:42 long.

This episode was published on Jan 23, 2026.

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