Alberta pledges $30 million and 400 beds for addiction recovery; involuntary detention ahead

Alberta announced a $30 million addiction recovery package July 23, aimed at Edmonton's escalating crisis, where more than half of all opioid deaths in the province and nearly two-thirds of all emergency health services responses occur.

The package includes 400 new recovery beds — 75 of them at Enoch Cree First Nation with 40 per cent reserved for women — plus a high-tech short-term integrated stabilization centre at Edmonton police headquarters. Mental Health and Addiction Minister Rick Wilson pledged funding for "new and strengthened outreach, navigation and stabilization services, recovery-oriented addiction treatment, mental health care, emergency shelter spaces, supportive housing, and much more."

The province is also rolling out involuntary intervention after changing legislation to extend youth detention from 10 days (with five-day extension) to up to 90 days. A 105-bed involuntary intervention facility for youth will open late fall or early next year. Wilson said the province will take underutilized beds from existing facilities to begin "compassionate intervention" for adults. "Supports must work together so people can move from crisis to stability, and from stability to recovery," Wilson said. The $30 million package does not include the involuntary intervention services, which have drawn controversy among social activists.