Editorial Policy

Every wait time comes from a health system's own public data, and every page names its source. We don't use crowd reports, social media or estimates from other websites. The sources are listed on where our data comes from.

• If a source doesn't publish a wait for a site, we say “Not published”. We never guess one.
• If a number is missing, we leave it out rather than showing “N/A” or a zero.
• If a number is older than the freshness limit for its source, it is marked as possibly out of date. See how we measure ER wait times.

• We never tell you which ER to go to. The closest or quickest site isn't always the right one.
• We only compare waits that measure the same thing, and urgent care is never ranked against ERs.
• Nothing on the site is medical advice. See the medical disclaimer.

Hours, addresses, phone numbers, services and who an ER treats come from the hospital's or health system's official pages. Each fact is stored with the page it came from and the date we last checked it, and the facility page links to those sources.

We re-check facts on a regular schedule and whenever a source changes. Hours and services can still change without notice, so call the site if something is critical.

Short descriptions of each site are written from the official pages they cite and reviewed by a person before they are published. They describe what a site offers, never how good it is.

No page on ERWaitTimes.ca is reviewed by a clinician at present, and we don't claim otherwise. If a named clinician reviews a page in future, the page will say who and when.

If you spot a mistake, email hello@erwaittimes.ca with the page and what is wrong, ideally with a link to the official source. See the contact page.

• A wrong or stuck wait time is investigated the same day we hear about it.
• A wrong fact such as hours or an address is corrected within 5 business days of being confirmed.
• Material changes to how we collect or show data are listed in the methodology change log.