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.”

Winter has arrived while a record number of Albertans are living unhoused or without stable housing. The combination of cold weather and a lack of housing are already adding totally preventable pressures on to our hospitals, emergency services and health care system.

Edmonton - November 24 - 30, 2024 marks National Addictions Awareness Week (NAAW), meant to be an opportunity to learn and highlight ways to address harms related to substance use. As we mark NAAW this year, Alberta continues to see multiple deaths per day due to drug poisoning. This week must be a time to commit to treating addictions care as health care, and to putting patients ahead of profits.

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. Last year, Alberta saw our highest ever number of drug poisoning deaths, with the most recent government data now tallying a devastating 2,069 deaths in 2023.

EDMONTON — This morning the provincial government celebrated the opening of a third Recovery Centre, this one in Gunn, Alberta. This is the latest announcement in the ongoing expansion of their so-called “Alberta Recovery Model.”