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Having a well-funded public health system that’s accessible to all is a tenet of care in Canada.

It’s something that we have all come to appreciate, something that we all see as part of the Canadian identity.

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But it doesn’t mean that every provincial service can’t do better, or can’t be more efficient, or better hit performance targets.

So it is important, alongside the over-arching provincial spending review, that the new government has decided to launch a performance review of Alberta Health Services.

In 2017, Alberta spent more than $1,000 per capita above B.C., a little less than that much above Ontario and Quebec, and a few hundred more per person than Saskatchewan and Manitoba, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

And from 2014 to 2018, wait times for a number of surgical procedures grew.

In announcing the review of AHS, Health Minister Tyler Shandro expressed a need to deliver on what Albertans want: a strong system that delivers value.