EDMONTON — Each year, August 31 marks International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD). It is an opportunity to mourn those we have lost, and to refocus our collective work to end overdose and tackle the toxic drug poisoning crisis in our communities. This year’s theme is “25 Years On. Still Needed.”

EDMONTON — As reported by the Investigative Journalism Foundation, staff of Henwood Treatment Centre—Edmonton’s largest public voluntary addiction treatment facility—have been abruptly informed by Recovery Alberta that the centre’s 62 residential treatment beds have been permanently shuttered.

EDMONTON — During today’s Question Period—the first since the Alberta Legislative Assembly returned from last week’s constituency break—the Minister of Mental Health and Addiction, Rick Wilson, was directly asked to apologize for misleading the Legislature, and to tell Albertans what he actually saw happen during a recent visit to a Supervised Consumption Site. But rather than answer the questions posed to him, he instead resorted to reading out recycled Recovery Alberta talking points, and used his time to rail against medical evidence and life-saving harm reduction services.

EDMONTON — This Tuesday in the Legislature, while responding to a question about significant concerns regarding the crown corporation CoRE (the Centre of Recovery Excellence), Minister of Mental Health and Addiction Rick Wilson spoke about a recent visit to a Supervised Consumption Site (SCS) and claimed that “these people that are in there: I’ve actually seen them collapse and die right in front of me,” along with a slew of other bizarre commentary on the issue.

EDMONTON — Last month saw an aggressive series of attacks on the remaining life-saving supervised consumption services in Alberta. The permanent closure of the supervised consumption site at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton happened on December 16. The Premier also announced the government’s intention to close services at the Sheldon Chumar Health Centre in Calgary, while the City of Lethbridge passed a motion advocating for the closure of their Overdose Prevention Site.

EDMONTON — Today Recovery Alberta issued a brief memo to inform staff and physicians at Edmonton's Royal Alexandra Hospital that they are closing the facility’s Supervised Consumption Service (SCS) effective December 16, 2025. Instead, they will be establishing “recovery-oriented” addiction services in the facility, details of which were not provided. 

EDMONTON — Each year, August 31 marks International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD). It is an opportunity to mourn those we have lost, and to refocus our collective work to end overdose and tackle the toxic drug poisoning crisis in our communities. This year’s IOAD comes just weeks after the Edmonton region hit an all-time monthly high for drug poisoning deaths.

EDMONTON — Yesterday, an important new report was released by the Parkland Institute entitled, “Undervalued and Overstretched: Inequity, Discrimination, and the Crisis Facing Alberta’s Allied Health-Care Workforce.” It outlines the conditions driving widespread burnout and retention issues among Alberta’s health care workers.

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.

EDMONTON — Yesterday, in what felt like a desperate ploy to change the channel on the ongoing scandal around surgical procurement allegations, the Premier and the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions pre-empted Budget 2025 with a press conference announcing a massive spending plan of $180 million toward building two “Compassionate Intervention Centres.”