Latest news with #Bill53
Calgary Herald
03-05-2025
- Health
- Calgary Herald
Opinion: New compassionate intervention act offers better protections for individuals
In 2015, I testified in the trial of J.H. v. Alberta Health Services, regarding a man who had been involuntarily hospitalized for nine months under provisions of Alberta's Mental Health Act (MHA), but who was, as his psychiatrist also testified, 'not getting any specific treatment' for his alleged mental disorder. Article content Article content Justice Kristine Eidsvik determined that J.H. 'did not meet . . . any of the criteria' the act identifies as required for detention and that he should be freed. Eidsvik ultimately ruled that certain provisions of the MHA were unconstitutional and invalid — and her decision was upheld on appeal. Article content Article content Among the multiple legislative and procedural concerns she articulated, Eidsvik noted the vagueness of concepts such as 'harm' (as no definition of 'harm' appears in the legislation) and stated that such a key element said to justify involuntary detention needs to be clear to physicians and patients alike. The court also found that the initial month of detention had been decided based on the opinion of a physician who had assessed J.H. for a total of four minutes, that J.H. was not advised of his right to counsel, that he was not told of his right to appeal his detention and that he had been treated without his consent despite the lack of the required paperwork. Article content Article content More broadly, the court noted 'the lack of a criteria that ties detention with treatment,' which was viewed as being the purpose of the act. Article content Last week, the Alberta government introduced Bill 53, the Compassionate Intervention Act (CIA), which would permit involuntary detention and treatment of individuals 'who are likely to cause harm to themselves or to others due to severe substance use or addiction issues.' Importantly, the first substantive section of the CIA provides a definition of 'harm' — 'in the case of an adult, substantial harm to the adult or to others within a reasonable time as a result of the adult's substance use or addiction.' Article content The next section then identifies seven factors that must be part of the assessment of risk, plus a catch-all: 'any other factor related to the adult's substance use or addiction that the Compassionate Intervention Commission considers relevant.' Article content There are also provisions for determining the severity of the person's substance use or addiction. Article content Under the CIA, an application to have a person assessed must come from an adult family member, a regulated health professional or a police officer who has interacted with the person. The application is reviewed by a lawyer, who decides whether the criteria of 'harm' has been met. Article content If the person is found to be 'likely to cause harm without intervention,' then an apprehension order would follow, authorizing police to take the person to a 'compassionate intervention facility,' while also requiring police to inform the person of their right to counsel. The order permits the person to be held for up to 72 hours and for a treatment team to stabilize and assess them.
Edmonton Journal
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Edmonton Journal
Smith rekindles fight against Liberal 'clean electricity' regs
Smith said the decarbonization regulations would wreak havoc on Alberta's fossil fuel-heavy electricity grid Premier Danielle Smith discusses Bill 53, the Compassionate Intervention Act, during a press conference, in Edmonton Tuesday April 15, 2025. Photo by David Bloom / David Bloom/Postmedia OTTAWA — Alberta Premier Smith vowed on Thursday to move forward with a legal challenge to Ottawa's incoming clean electricity regulations, rekindling a fight with the last Liberal government over its decarbonization agenda. 'Today we are taking another step to protect Albertans livelihoods by challenging the constitutionality of (these) regulations in the Court of Appeal of Alberta, and we look forward to making our case,' Smith told reporters in Edmonton. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by David Staples, Keith Gerein and others, Oilers news from Cult of Hockey, Ask EJ Anything features, the Noon News Roundup and Under the Dome newsletters. Unlimited online access to Edmonton Journal and 15 news sites with one account. Edmonton Journal ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by David Staples, Keith Gerein and others, Oilers news from Cult of Hockey, Ask EJ Anything features, the Noon News Roundup and Under the Dome newsletters. Unlimited online access to Edmonton Journal and 15 news sites with one account. Edmonton Journal ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Smith revealed she was readying a court challenge shortly after the Liberals released their final draft of the clean electricity regs in December. Smith said on Thursday that the decarbonization regulations, set to come into effect in 2035, would wreak havoc on Alberta's fossil fuel-heavy electricity grid. 'These regulations set an emission limit that is completely unattainable and would make Alberta's electricity system… more than 100 times less reliable than the province's supply adequacy standard,' said Smith, citing a report from the Alberta Electric System Operator. Roughly two-thirds of Alberta's electricity comes from natural gas, according to Canada's Energy regulator. A smaller but not insubstantial amount of roughly a fifth comes from coal and coke. Smith said that, in their current form, the clean electricity regs would put Alberta 'at serious risk of regular brownouts and blackouts during the cold dead of winter through the dog days of summer.' Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Smith stressed that the costs of an unreliable power grid would be 'grim' for millions across the province. 'Albertans would be left to freeze in the dark. In the depths of a minus 40 degree winter cold snap, families would be bundled up in their winter coats while sitting down for (a candlelit) dinner,' Smith warned. 'In the heat of summer… hospitals would be overwhelmed by the influx of patients suffering from heatstroke while trusting that their generators keep the lights on for their lifesaving equipment.' Alberta's electricity grid came under severe strain during a January 2024 cold snap, forcing the province to import power from both Saskatchewan and Montana. Scrapping the clean electricity regs was one of nine demands Smith put forward to the federal party leaders in March, saying whoever emerged from April's election as prime minister would need to address these issues within his first six months in office to 'avoid an unprecedented national unity crisis.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Smith said on Thursday that Prime Minister Mark Carney, the election's winner, must 'immediately commence' working with her government to reset Ottawa-Alberta relations from their acrimonious state under predecessor Justin Trudeau. Carney failed to improve significantly on Trudeau's performance in Alberta, with the Liberals holding steady at two seats in the province after Monday's federal election. He wasn't asked about Smith's ultimatum, or Ottawa-Alberta relations, at his first press conference since the election on Thursday. Get more deep-dive National Post political coverage and analysis in your inbox with the Political Hack newsletter, where Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson and political analyst Tasha Kheiriddin get at what's really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill every Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for subscribers. Sign up here. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. 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CBC
15-04-2025
- Health
- CBC
Alberta introduces controversial involuntary addictions treatment bill
Social Sharing The Alberta government introduced its long-promised and controversial bill on Tuesday to force people with severe substance addictions into involuntary treatment. Bill 53, the Compassionate Intervention Act, lays out the criteria, guidelines and process for a family member or guardian, health-care professional or police officer to get someone into treatment. "This program is not for the vast majority of Albertans who suffer from addiction," Dan Williams, Alberta's minister of mental health and addictions, told a news conference in Edmonton. "This program is also not a criminal justice program. This is a health-care program … health care should lead to healing, and not harming those who suffer from addiction." The government intends to start opening compassionate intervention beds in existing facilities next year. Construction will start in 2026 on dedicated facilities for northern and southern Alberta. Both are expected to open by 2029. If the bill becomes law, it will be possible to fill out an online application to have someone apprehended. An independent compassionate intervention commission will be responsible for making legally binding treatment decisions. If a lawyer on the commission decides that the subject has shown that he or she is in danger of causing severe harm to themselves or to others, a police officer would apprehend them and take them to a compassionate intervention centre for a full health assessment and detox. A hearing before the entire three-person commission — made up of a lawyer, physician and member of the public — would be required to occur within 72 hours. The commission members would have to agree unanimously to either send the person to a secure compassionate intervention treatment facility for a maximum of three months, send them to a community-based recovery or addiction centre for up to six months, or discharge them completely. The bill says care plans would be reviewed every three weeks over the process. Subjects of the orders could appeal decisions. They could also ask for legal counsel or a mental-health patient advocate to represent them at the hearing. The commission would review progress of secure facility patients at the end of their term. They could then be discharged to a recovery community. Under the law, if passed, a patient won't be able to refuse medications that the commission has decided they will take to treat their addiction. Commission decisions could be challenged in court. Premier Danielle Smith said the government is taking care with the legislation. "We put forward enough protections to not only be compliant with the Alberta Bill of Rights, but also Section 1 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms," Smith said Tuesday. "We'll make sure that we're cautious as we go forward, but we also know that this is something that needs to be done." The government intends to have the act also apply to minors who be sent to a youth recovery centre in Edmonton that will open next year.
CBC
29-01-2025
- Politics
- CBC
4 years after it was passed, bill to create police accountability in Nunavut not implemented
Social Sharing A bill meant to create a civilian oversight body of police in Nunavut has not been implemented despite being passed into law nearly four years ago. Nunavut MLAs passed Bill 53 in June 2021. It would amend the territory's agreement with the RCMP to add provisions to investigate serious incidents involving police officers. The territory currently has agreements with the Ottawa and Calgary police services to investigate incidents involving the RCMP. George Hickes, an Iqaluit MLA, was the justice minister at the time the bill was passed. Hickes said he worries the bill has now "dropped off the table." "This is taking way too long," Hickes said. "I think it's very important to have that voice, or at least that viewpoint available to any investigation into any occurrences." Under the legislation, the Nunavut government can appoint civilian investigative groups — but it does not close the door to having police officers conduct those investigations. A provision in the bill also allows for civilian monitors and cultural advisers to be hired to work on on investigations done by other police forces. Civilian monitors can make recommendations to contracted police forces if they have concerns about an investigation's impartiality. "I think it is very important. You know, we don't have a lot of RCMP members that are from Nunavut that are working in Nunavut," Hickes said. "So whenever there's something that does happen, it would be nice to know that there is somebody with local knowledge." Agreement is coming, department says Shakir Rahim, director of the criminal justice program at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, said a civilian oversight body helps build public trust with police. "Rightfully, members of the public may have concerns about police investigating police," Rahim said. He said civilian oversight bodies also play important communication and engagement roles, often being the primary spokespeople to media and the public when serious incidents happen. He said not having oversight creates "a crisis in public confidence," where people could feel that these incidents aren't being properly investigated. "People deserve to have answers that they can believe in, that they can trust," Rahim said. In a statement to CBC News, Nunavut's Department of Justice said it began collaborating with an independent investigative body on a potential partnership shortly after the legislation was passed. "However, in the fall of 2022, these negotiations reached an impasse, and the department has had to pursue other options and begin the engagement and negotiations process anew," the department wrote. Justice said it is now in discussions with a different investigative body but nothing has been finalized. The department said it's working toward reaching an agreement with an independent investigative body in 2025.
