The median wait time for Canadians seeking surgical or other therapeutic treatment dropped to 17.3 weeks in 2008 from 18.3 weeks in 2007, according to a new study from the Vancouver-based Fraser Institute.

The fall in waiting time between 2007 and 2008 results from a decrease both in the first wait -- the wait between visiting a general practitioner and attending a consultation with a specialist -- and in the second wait -- from the time that a specialist decides that treatment is required to treatment.

Among the provinces, Ontario achieved the shortest total wait in 2008, 13.3 weeks, with British Columbia (17.0 weeks), and Manitoba (17.2 weeks), next shortest. Saskatchewan exhibited the longest total wait at 28.8 weeks; the next longest waits were found in Nova Scotia (27.6 weeks) and Newfoundland & Labrador (24.4 weeks).