EDMONTON — This afternoon, the government tabled Bill 53: Compassionate Intervention Act, fulfilling their promise to table forced treatment legislation in this legislative session. If passed, it will allow for mandatory treatment orders that remove a patient’s right to consent and permit individuals to be involuntarily confined against their will. The tabled legislation does not address previously raised, legitimate concerns about the serious infringement on the rights of Albertans, nor the considerable evidence that legislation of this type is both dangerous and ineffective.
“This legislation is anything but compassionate. The government is stubbornly moving forward with this ideological bill despite a lack of evidence to support forced treatment. In fact, there is evidence to show this approach could very well result in further harm and more fatalities,” said Chris Gallaway, executive director of Friends of Medicare. “We regularly hear stories from Albertans who voluntarily seek out mental health or addictions support, but can’t find it or are told they’ll have to wait. The real issue we need to tackle is a lack of access to timely care, not a push to further criminalize those who use drugs.”
This follows a plan announced in the lead up to Budget 2025, for massive spending of $180 million toward building two “Compassionate Intervention Centres,” with almost no further details as to who will build these facilities, own and operate them, work in them, or what services will be provided inside. Since the full release of Budget 2025, Albertans have continued to be left with more questions than answers on this major infrastructure spending announcement.
“The government’s current agenda has nothing to do with providing compassionate, evidence-based addictions care to Albertans. Since the creation of Recovery Alberta, it has become increasingly clear that our government’s real priority is the interests of the private recovery industry,” said Gallaway. “The combination of forced treatment legislation, along with funding for many new private facilities, has created a market for private recovery businesses to profit off of the health and addictions care needs of Albertans.”
“The government’s refusal to listen to medical evidence, or diverge from their ideological, profit-driven approach, is continuing to wreak needless harm on our communities. Instead, we should be focused on providing quality, accessible addictions care to Albertans, overseen by regulated health professionals, within our public health care system,” concluded Gallaway.
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