Alberta government announces new regulations for safe consumption sites
The province announced a new set of quality standards for supervised consumption sites across the province Wednesday.
The goal of the regulations, said Jason Luan, Alberta's associate minister of mental health and addictions, was “not only to address a person’s immediate need, but also to support them in accessing the health care system and achieving lifelong recovery."
Under the new standards, safe consumption sites will be required to follow a series of requirements in order to receive a license to practise, including: data collection, staff qualifications, physical site requirements such as washrooms, clinical practise standards, as well as ensuring the safety of clients, employees, and the local community. Sites will also be required to clearly demonstrate referral options for their clients to receive addiction treatment.
Calgarians are being asked to provide feedback on proposed supervised consumption services at the Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre.
“Supervised consumption services play an important role in helping prevent opioid deaths and reducing harms associated with substance abuse,” said Dr. Nicholas Mitchell, provincial medical director of Addiction and Mental Health, Alberta Health Services.
On May 26, the province announced it was closing Calgary’s only safe injection site, Safeways. At the time, Luan’s press secretary Justin Marshall stated the site was “highly disruptive to the neighbourhood,” and the government pledged to open “two more appropriate locations” for safe consumption.
The decision came after Alberta’s deadliest year for addiction in the province’s history, with 1,144 opioid related deaths. Dr. Jennifer Jackson, an advocate for addiction support, told CTV that the decision to shut down Safeways was “devastating …. [safety concerns] are problems to solve, not reasons to pull the plug.”
As of yet, the locations of the two promised Calgary safe consumption sites have not been announced. The remaining safe consumption sites in Red Deer, Lethbridge, Edmonton and Grand Prairie will be required to comply with the new regulations or face closure as well.
Supervised consumption sites provide people with a safe and hygienic place to consume drugs that they have obtained elsewhere. Services include sterilized needles and intervention in the event of a medical emergency.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.