Romina Maurino - Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt will meet with representatives from isotope-producing countries next week in Toronto to try to work out a schedule aimed at combatting the shortage crisis.
Increases in production in South Africa and the Netherlands mean isotope supply will soon be back up to two-thirds of usual levels, Raitt said Friday.
But, she added, the government needs to keep working with the international community on a maintenance schedule that will ensure there aren't too many reactors down at once.
"Not only will my officials be talking with the operators, I will be talking with my colleagues in Belgium and in France in order to press upon them the importance of ensuring that we have a global supply of medical isotopes," Raitt said after an event in Toronto.
"We're getting there, and it's about working together with the other countries on their maintenance schedules."
The shortage stems from the emergency shutdown of Canada's aging nuclear research reactor at Chalk River, Ont., which produces one-third of the world's medical isotopes.
Smaller hospitals are worried that about running of medical isotopes -- used to diagnose and treat cardiac problems, neurological conditions and several types of cancer -- leaving patients scrambling to find alternatives.
Dr. Christopher O'Brien, head of the Ontario Association of Nuclear Medicine, said the increase was welcome. This week has been the worst one in terms of supplies since the Chalk River shutdown a month ago, he added.
Some centres have some medical isotopes, others have next to nothing and others do not have any at all, he said.
"We are anticipating that we should have some steady supplies of isotopes for the next couple of weeks if nothing goes wrong," O'Brien said.
"The isotope supply will still be markedly reduced as compared as to what we would normally be able to use, but at least the supplies will be somewhat constant."
Medical experts are worried they will face a similar pinch in July and August when shortages are anticipated from Europe.
"We will try to do as many patients as we can next week when we know we have medical isotope availability, yet we won't know what we'll be doing the week after that," O'Brien said.
Raitt said it's difficult to get information about supply levels because of the involvement of private companies, but that she hoped to get the companies to agree to weekly reports on supply levels in the near future.
The minister came under fire earlier this week for calling the isotope shortage a "sexy" issue that could boost her political career.
She has since apologized, and said her focus now is on solving the shortage.
