Calgary's new cancer care facility to open at end of the month

The province cut the ribbon Thursday on Calgary's new cancer care centre, one that Premier Danielle Smith and Health Minister Adriana LaGrange tout as a world-class treatment and research facility.

The Arthur J.E. Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre is adjacent to the Foothills Medical Centre in northwest Calgary. It will start treating patients when it officially opens its doors on Oct. 28, the province said. 

According to the Alberta government, about half of people in the province will develop cancer in their lifetime, with more than 23,300 new cancer cases expected this year. 

Smith called the ribbon cutting ceremony of the Arthur Child facility a historic day for the province.

"Not only is this new centre one of the largest government infrastructure projects in Alberta's history, but its opening also puts the province on the path to becoming an international leader in cancer treatment," she said.

The centre boasts 127,000 square metres of space, including 160 inpatient beds and more than 9,200 square metres dedicated to research. However, it will open in phases and will not be at full capacity when it starts taking in patients.

The Tom Baker Cancer Centre, which is significantly smaller than the new building, will be repurposed and will not go vacant, officials said, adding a new radiopharmaceutical centre will be built adjacent to that space.

Attracting oncologists to staff the centre

LaGrange said the new facility is state-of-the-art and hopes it will bring in more medical professionals to Alberta.

"We are fortunate to have a world-class team here at the Arthur Child, which is a world-class facility, a team that we hope will continue to grow as we work to attract the talented health-care workers and researchers over the coming years," she said.

Asked whether there are enough oncologists to staff the centre, LaGrange recognized the need for more cancer specialists and said the province is actively recruiting them.

The province said that from Sept.1, 2023, to Aug. 31, 2024, there were 10.9 full-time equivalent oncologists and 5.1 hospitalists hired in Alberta. An additional 14.8 full-time equivalent oncologists and 6.97 full time equivalent hospitalists have start dates in the near future, Smith said, adding those percentage points are to denote part-time work.

They're not all new positions, according to the premier, they're predominantly replacement positions. But she said the fact that the Arthur Child is going to be able to offer research capacity is one of the things that she hopes will attract oncologists to Alberta.

"If they can enrol their patients in clinical trials so they can be on the cutting edge of medicine, we're very optimistic that we'll be able to attract more oncologists now that we're open," Smith said. 

She also said the province is going to have conversations with universities to graduate more oncologists in Alberta.

The Alberta Medical Association has said the government needs to increase oncologists' pay to keep specialists working in the province. Asked about offering more money to attract oncologists, Smith said it comes down to a combination of factors.

"We want our physicians and our specialists to be well paid. We want to be able to offer a competitive package.… We also have one of the best tax environments in the country. We don't have a sales tax. We've got some of the lowest corporate taxes," she said.

"I would say that whole tax picture allows for us to be very competitive in inviting people and getting them to accept."