The province’s approach favours spending on treatment and recovery services over harm-reduction measures, such as supervised drug-use sites and supplying prescription opioids
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she is confident the province is going in the right direction with its recovery-oriented approach to address rising drug toxicity deaths, while acknowledging her government has not seen improvements more than four years into the strategy’s implementation. Both the government and its critics point to a lack of data as a problem when assessing the effectiveness.
Ms. Smith, in defence of the Alberta model, highlighted data twice this week that show deaths have fallen in relation to certain substances, such as pharmaceutical opioids , by 70 per cent since 2018. Alberta is expected to break its annual record for fatal drug poisonings, with 1,841 deaths recorded from January to November, 2023. The province has yet to release data for last December. There were 1,569 fatalities in the first 11 months of 2022 and 1,686 in 2021, which was the previous deadliest year for the province since it began collecting data in 2016.
Addictions Minister Dan Williams on Thursday was asked by reporters to disclose data that shows Alberta’s recovery approach, which, is working. He pointed to the same statistics highlighted by Ms. Smith and said he “can’t let somebody who’s struggling with the deadly disease of addiction just simply maintain that.
Government Province Approach Health Cent Drug Tool Smith Alberta Calgary
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