Canada urgently requires a rigorous debate on the strategic options for ensuring a robust, reliable, and affordable supply of radioactive isotopes. Should the debate be confined to how Canada can best develop the necessary technologies solely for our own use or should Canada abandon the idea of producing its own isotope supply and any future aspirations to serve the global market? Canada's Isotope Crisis focuses on the central policy question: do we dare to try to shape the future or do we retreat into silence because we are not prepared to make the necessary investments for the future well-being of Canadians?

This volume showcases pointed essays and analysis from members of the academy and individuals who have made contributions to the development of medical isotopes and pioneered their use in medical practice. It also includes commentary from those involved in the production, manufacturing, processing, and distribution of isotopes. Canada's Isotope Crisis is a multi-disciplinary effort that addresses the global dimension of isotope supply and combines expert opinions on the present and past with knowledge of the relevant government agencies and the basis for their decisions at critical junctures.

Contributors: Neil Alexander, François Bénard (University of British Columbia), Frederick Boyd, Thomas Burnett, Karen Chad (University of Saskatchewan), Dean Chapman (University of Saskatchewan), Jill Chitra, Albert Driedger (University of Western Ontario), Richard Florizone (University of Saskatchewan), Christopher Heysel (McMaster University), François Lamoureux (University of Montreal), Monique Mazzuca (University of Western Ontario), Fiona McNeill (McMaster University), Timothy Meyer, Christopher O'Brien (University of Western Ontario), Thomas J. Ruth (University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University and University of Victoria), David Tucker (McMaster University), Jean-Luc Urbain (University of Western Ontario), John Valliant (McMaster University), and Christopher Whipple.