Province announces sweeping changes for addiction care

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on April 16, 2025.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

The Alberta government on Tuesday introduced legislation that will subject addicts to intervention if they are deemed likely to harm themselves or others.
Bill 53, Compassionate Intervention Act, if passed, will give a way for treatment or care plans to be requested by family members, health  care professionals, guardians, police/peace officers for individuals  with severe addictions.
It will be a measure of last resort, says the government.
Eligibility for youth will be comparable to the Protection of Children Abusing Drugs Act which provides mandatory short-term detox,  stabilization and assessment. It would replace, and, according to the province, improve the PChAD to allow for longer treatment, an easier application process and more family involvement in a youth’s recovery.
If the legislation passes, Alberta will be the first jurisdiction in Canada to implement compassionate care legislation for adults and youth.
Drug usage costs  Alberta $7 billion annually in terms of health care, productivity and justice costs. More than 780 people visited the ER  because of substance use more than 10 times in 2023 alone.
The government says the legislation is based on best practices, citing Norway where 75 per cent of patients with longer care and follow-up periods, found intervention helped them. It also cites a study from  Massachusetts in which people who with opioid addictions were followed for 12 weeks after a brief period of treatment and there were no deaths, with 59 per cent relapsing.
The province states that Portugal’s “dissuasion commission model” has shown a reduction in drug-related fatalities as well as improved service co-ordination and access to treatment.
The government also states that some professions including nurses, doctors, dentists, pharmacists and pilots all have similar programs which “demonstrate incredible results including abstaining from drugs or alcohol in the range of about 70-95 per cent long-term with frequent return to work and high quality of life outcomes.”
The government believes that voluntary approaches to treatment haven’t been accessed or have been ineffective for those with the most severe addiction problems.
If the legislation is approved, the government will build treatment centres for people receiving care. It also states that correctional  facilities won’t be used for compassionate interventions. The 2025  provincial budget includes $180 million to be spent over three years to create two 150-bed compassionate care centres in Calgary and Edmonton with construction to start next year.
And it says CI “will offer secure or community-based care plans tailored to individual recovery needs and timelines, incorporating robust case management for clients.”
Under present legislation, the Mental Health Act allows for mandatory care for people with a mental disorder. The PChAD lets legal guardians seek court intervention to involuntarily detain children under the age of 18 for 10 days in a safe house for the purpose of detoxification.
The government says its goal with the Alberta Recovery Model is to create a world-class publicly funded continuum of care where people can get access to needed addictions and mental health services.
Statistics provided by the province show that in 2024, substances killed 1,414 Albertans and there were 10,955 EMS responses to opioid-related issues. Province-wide, there were 76,054 visits to  emergency departments because of substance use and 26,082 hospitalizations.
Legislation specifies treatment that a patient can’t refuse including  to be monitored, observed or assessed by a treatment team, receive  clinical advice and take medications to treat their addictions or substance use that are authorized, prescribed and administered.
The province says safeguards will be put in place to ensure patients  rights are respected.
“We cannot — and will not — stand by and let addiction destroy our  families and communities. The Compassionate Intervention Act will  provide life-saving support, ensuring families are no longer forced to  watch their loved ones suffer from the deadly disease of addiction and  endure the pain it brings,” said Dan Williams, Minister of Mental Health and Addiction, in a statement.

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