'Recovery is possible': Alberta government doubles number of addiction treatment beds
In 2019, the UCP government said it would establish 4,000 treatment spaces for Albertans suffering from addictions.
Now, two years later, Premier Jason Kenney says the government is doing even more.
He made the announcement at the Fresh Start Recovery Centre in Calgary, alongside Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Mike Ellis.
"We care," Kenney said. "And recovery from addiction is possible."
All of the addiction treatment available through the province is free for Albertans to access.
Support provided at residential recovery facilities includes improving physical and mental health, fostering connections between family and community, building employment skills, ensuring housing stability and more.
New software, called My Recovery Plan, is also being provided to operators of treatment centres. Officials say this tool will help "fix the broken system."
"We have heard for years that the addiction care system is broken. When we came into office, Albertans were having to decide between selling their car and remortgaging their home to access life-saving treatment and recovery services. This was completely unacceptable," said Mike Ellis, Alberta's associate minister of mental health and addictions in a statement.
CALLS FOR HARM REDUCTION
But past policy was still somewhat of a focus at Saturday's announcement.
Many health experts and drug advocates call the UCP approach to a deadly stretch of overdoses "one-sided."
Many would like to see more of an emphasis put on harm reduction.
Advocate Euan Thomson wants supervised consumption sites and safe opioid treatment programs to still be encouraged to those struggling with addiction.
"If the wine and beer supply was poisoned right now and people were dying from drinking wine and beer, we could probably address the supply," he said to CTV News, "rather than try and build a bunch of recovery beds for daily beer drinkers to get off their habit.
"We need to address the poison drug supply."
The premier says he agrees harm reduction steps are still needed for some, but Albertans should instead be focused on solutions.
"The staff (at supervised consumption sites) shouldn't just be there to help them shoot up," he said. "The staff should be there to help them provide a way out of the addiction."
"Unfortunately, for a lot of people," Thomson said, "that just isn't realistic or even desirable."
Thomson and many other harm reduction advocates also worry eventual relapses won't be addressed properly in a province completely focused on recovery.
"We should look at it in terms of keeping people alive, first and foremost," he said.
Kenney believes it's time for a new strategy.
"One definition of insanity is to keep repeating the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome," the Premier said. "We don't think facilitating deadly addictions is the safe or responsible approach."
APP DATA
The province also pushed on Saturday for more Albertans to download its Digital Overdose Response System -- or DORS.
It's a free app that can connect those who use illicit drugs at home with emergency services if they're needed.
230 users have registered on DORS since it's August launch.
The province wouldn't say how many times it's successfully connected a resident with an emergency response.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.