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home / 世界杯决赛2022

alberta proposes legislature committee to examine safer drug supply

the alberta government is poised to strike a committee ...

by lisa johnson

dec 8 2021
read time 2 minute read
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associate minister for mental health and addiction mike ellis takes part in a press conference where the alberta law enforcement response team (alert) announced a $300m fentanyl seizure, in edmonton wednesday sept. 1, 2021. david bloom
the alberta government is poised to strike a committee of mlas to look at arguments for and against the safe supply of drugs for those dependent on them.
the committee will look at whether prescribing medications to people who are at high risk would cut the number of drug overdoses, and whether such programs would increase risks or come with “any other benefits or consequences,” according to a motion put before the legislature.
on monday, mental health and addictions associate minister mike ellis told reporters the committee’s aim is to get the facts and hear from experts “on both sides” of the issue.
“as a former law enforcement officer, i want to look at objective evidence,” said ellis. however, in question period, ellis referred to safe supply as a “taxpayer-funded supply of drugs” and questioned how such policies benefit those struggling with substance use and addiction.
as of press time tuesday, the assembly had not yet voted on a motion to create the committee, although government house leader jason nixon said earlier he expected the fall sitting to wrap up this week.
as of october, the latest provincial data showed that 1,026 albertans died due to drug poisoning between january and august — with 118 deaths in august alone. in comparison, between january and august of 2020, there were 856 drug-poisoning deaths. that amounts to a 20 per cent increase in deaths during the same time period this year.
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the new committee will have a majority of ucp members, with calgary-klein ucp mla jeremy nixon acting as chair, and is set to report its findings and recommendations by the end of april.

a 2018 government commission, including public health experts and advocates, recommended addressing the “crisis” of illegal drug supplies, increasingly contaminated by toxic fentanyl contributing to overdose mortality, in part by providing a safer opioid supply.

on tuesday, ndp mental health and addictions critic lori sigurdson, who has also been tapped to sit on the committee, said safe supply programs across the country are very targeted for a small number of people who have had difficulty maintaining other treatments.

“we know the efficacy of harm reduction,” said sigurdson, pointing to the government’s previous report on safe consumption sites, which was criticised by experts for lacking balanced evidence.

on monday, ndp leader rachel notley said she hopes the government is acting in good faith, but worried the committee would ultimately be used to “score some kind of political goal.”
“what’s not helpful is a ucp government that suggests that safe supply is some nefarious attempt to simply randomly hand out drugs to albertans. i hope very much that that is not the object of this committee,” said notley.
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alberta premier jason kenney has been critical of harm reduction efforts, and his government has been largely focused on building up addictions treatment and recovery spaces.

at a saturday an announcement touting work to increase available addiction recovery spaces , kenney said he believes many people in the harm reduction space are “dismissive” of recovery.

“there’s a growing push by special interests to make drugs more available to addicts. and we don’t think facilitating deadly addictions is the single responsible approach,” kenney said saturday.
lijohnson@postmedia.com
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lisa johnson
lisa johnson

lisa johnson is a provincial affairs reporter at the edmonton journal and edmonton sun.

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