The Fraser Institute says long waits for surgeries and medical treatment cost Canadians almost $2.1 billion in lost wages and productivity last year. The public policy think-tank says those costs could increase, now that many provinces have postponed elective surgeries as a result of COVID-19. The study draws on data from physicians who, in 2019, reported a median wait time from specialist appointment to treatment of 10.1 weeks; that’s three and a half weeks longer than what physicians consider reasonable. The average value of lost time during the work week in Saskatchewan in 2019 was $2,421. That put us in about the middle of the pack; with four provinces showing greater losses.