The Slaight Family Foundation has announced pledges totaling C$50 million (approximately $48 million) to five hospitals in Toronto to fund new MRI technology, emergency services, mental health treatment, and maternity care.

Gifts of C$10 million each over ten years will go to Toronto General and Western Hospital, St. Michael's Hospital, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and Mount Sinai Hospital.

Toronto General and Western will use the funds to purchase Canada's first Siemens 7 Tesla whole-body MRI scanner, which produces detailed images of the brain and spinal cord, potentially revealing the earliest signs of degeneration in the brain caused by Alzheimer's disease, strokes, concussions, and other degenerative maladies. Sunnybrook will use most of its gift to purchase Toronto's first PET-MRI scanner for ultra-high-resolution imaging. St. Michael's will use the funds to modernize and double the size of its emergency department. CAMH will use the funds to coordinate new services aimed at identifying at-risk youth for early intervention and treatment. And Mount Sinai will use its gift to extend maternity-care education for family physicians, build a labor and delivery unit, and set up prenatal and perinatal outreach services for marginalized women in Canada and abroad.

The gifts represent the second $50 million donation from members of the Slaight family this year, after patriarch Allan Slaight and his wife, Emmanuelle Gattuso, gave $50 million to the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in January."I believe it's important that Canadian families who are fortunate enough to have built some kind of wealth in this country are giving back to the country in one way, shape, or another," Gary Slaight, whose family built the powerhouse multimedia firm Standard Broadcasting, told the Globe and Mail.

"When we approached the hospitals with the idea of funding critical projects, we asked them what they needed in order to really make a difference for their patients," Slaight said in a statement. "The projects we selected together are truly extraordinary. We feel profoundly grateful to be in a position to provide these hospital gifts which we hope will benefit Torontonians for many years to come."