Latest news with #CompassionateInterventionAct
Calgary Herald
15-05-2025
- Health
- Calgary Herald
Alberta government cites 19 bills as spring sitting ends in shadow of talk on tariffs, separation vote
Article content Alberta MLAs rose in the wee hours of Thursday morning to mark the end of the legislature's spring sitting, which saw the government pass 19 pieces of legislation but was also overshadowed by allegations of corruption related to health-care procurement that prompted the resignation of a cabinet member, a response to American tariffs, and the potential of an independence referendum. Article content Article content Article content Speaking with reporters at the legislature on Thursday, government house leader Joseph Schow pointed to the bills that had been put into law over the past weeks and said the government would take stock of its priorities over the summer. Article content Article content 'Our government has always been and will continue to be unapologetic in our fight to protect and promote a strong and sovereign Alberta within a united Canada, because we are relentless in our work to create a brighter future for Albertans,' he said. Article content 'We're going to take the summer to go back to our constituents and the people that hired us to do this job, and listen to them, hear what they have to say.' Article content Among the bills passed since the sitting began on Feb. 25 was legislation formalizing the overhaul of auto insurance rules, taking a further step towards a provincial police force, eliminating municipal codes of conduct, and changing how justice system non-profits are funded. Article content Major pieces of legislation were left for closer to the end of the sitting. Those include the Compassionate Intervention Act, which would allow for adults and youth to be placed into involuntary addiction treatment if they are deemed to likely cause significant harm to themselves or others. Article content Article content It also includes Bill 55, which moves public health roles from Alberta Health Services (AHS) to Primary Care Alberta, and Bill 54, which drew attention for lowering the bar for a potential citizen-led separation vote while also reintroducing union and corporate campaign contributions. Article content Article content Bill 54 prompted a backlash from First Nations and led the government to introduce some last-minute amendments late Wednesday. Article content In February, the government faced questions raised in the statement of claim by former AHS head Athana Mentzelopoulos about health-care procurement, with those allegations being the main subject of many question periods throughout the sitting. Article content And the threat of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and the potential impact on Alberta's economy was also at the forefront of legislative debates, most notably around the provincial budget tabled in February that delivered the government's long-promised tax cut but also forecast a $5.2-billion deficit.
CTV News
05-05-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Province dedicates $141M in funding to Alberta Hospital Edmonton construction and improvements
Alberta Hospital Edmonton will get more than $141 million from the province for new construction and facility improvements. The psychiatric hospital has delivered mental health services since it opened in 1923. It originally focussed on treating veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder after the First World War. The funding will go towards upgrades for hospital campus infrastructure, unit renovations and the demolition of vacant buildings, according to the province. Two of the new projects will be the Edmonton Recovery Community and the Northern Alberta Compassionate Intervention Centre. Construction on those projects is expected to start in 2026. The Edmonton Recovery Community, which will have 75 new beds, is expected to be built by the end of 2027 and will provide holistic, long-term addiction treatment for up to one year. 'Recovery communities focus on mental health and well-being, individual and group therapy, development of healthy habits and social skills, employment training and other supports that put residents on a pathway to success,' the province said in a news release. 'The goal is for every participant to leave the program not only drug free, but as healthy members of society with strong connections to the community.' The Northern Alberta Compassionate Intervention Centre, which is expected to be built by 2029, will have 150 new beds and have spaces for intake assessments, medically supported detox, counselling, individual and group therapy and more for those receiving care under the proposed Compassionate Intervention Act. Treatment beds for youth under mandatory treatment orders will also move to the Northern Alberta Youth Recovery Centre when it is open, which is estimated to be in 2026. The hospital currently has 460 treatment beds. Buildings 1 and 11 and the water tower are set to be demolished and planning is underway to demolish buildings 2, 5 and 7. All of the buildings are vacant. Mechanical upgrades, water main repairs and boiler repairs will also be done at the hospital.
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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Vancouver Sun
24-04-2025
- Health
- Vancouver Sun
Vaughn Palmer: NDP still stalling on involuntary treatment for drug addicts
Article content VICTORIA — While the B.C. New Democrats have repeatedly promised involuntary treatment for severe drug addicts, the Alberta government has brought in legislation to do just that. Article content Article content The Compassionate Intervention Act, introduced last week, would be the first of its kind in Canada if enacted. Article content The act would allow Alberta to force drug addicts into secure facilities for up to three months, or require them to complete six months of treatment in less-secure settings. Article content Article content The process is complaint driven, allowing parents, guardians, health care professionals and law enforcement to refer addicts to involuntary care. A quasi-judicial panel of experts would make the final call on whether to detain and on what conditions. Article content Article content The panel would weigh the severity of the addiction, the risk of harm to self and others, and 'negative impacts to community safety'. Article content People 'in the clutches of addiction are unable to help themselves' and thereby lose the right to choose the proper response and treatment, said Premier Danielle Smith in defending the legislation. Article content The Alberta minister of mental health and addictions, Dan Williams, said the province was compelled to respond to a crisis that was claiming four lives a day from overdoses of poison drugs. Article content In B.C., where the equivalent statistic is six a day, the NDP government has proposed legislation for involuntary treatment several times, but has never acted on it. Article content Five years ago, then-Premier John Horgan introduced legislation to allow short-term detention of young overdose victims. Article content Article content He had to withdraw the bill after the Green party, then in a power-sharing arrangement with the NDP, refused to support it. Article content Article content Soon after, Horgan repudiated the four-year power-sharing arrangement with the Greens and called an election. Article content 'That was really the deciding issue for me,' said Horgan in explaining the snap election call. 'Having met with parents who have lost children, I was not prepared to accept that.' Article content Yet after winning the election, Horgan was in no rush to bring back the legislation. In spring 2022, he admitted that the proposal was dead, slain by a backlash from independent watchdogs, Indigenous leaders and legal experts. Article content When David Eby launched his bid to succeed Horgan in the summer of 2022, one of his first pronouncements was a call for involuntary treatment of severe drug addicts. Article content 'When someone overdoses twice a day and they show up in the emergency ward for the second time, the idea that we release that person back into the street to overdose a third time or die or have a profound brain injury or just come back to the emergency room again seems very bizarre,' said Eby.
