Smith says involuntary addiction care a 'last resort' while announcing new facility in Enoch Cree Nation

Enoch Cree Nation Chief Cody Thomas and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith at an announcement just west of Edmonton on April 24, 2023. (Source: Alberta Government)

The premier of Alberta and the Chief of the Enoch Cree Nation signed an agreement to the beat of drums Monday afternoon while answering questions about forcing addicted people to get treatment.

The signatures came just minutes after it was announced that the province will spend $30 million to build a new "recovery community" in Enoch, on the western edge of Edmonton.

The 75-bed facility can serve 300 people a year with treatment for addictions and is one of nine similar centres either operating or being set up across Alberta.

“With this new treatment facility, we have the opportunity to turn things around and reunite our spirit," said Chief Cody Thomas.

"Not only would this facility help those who are struggling with addiction or mental health issues, it would benefit our entire Nation.”

The decision to build the facility came from the work of the Edmonton Public Safety and Community Response Task Force, which is trying to reduce crime and social disorder, particularly in the city core and on transit.

“This agreement with Enoch Cree Nation paves the way for a new recovery community to be built on Enoch lands, driven by the community it serves," Premier Danielle Smith said.

"This partnership reflects our government’s commitment to working with Indigenous communities to increase access to land-based and trauma-informed addiction treatment services that meet [the] needs of everyone in Alberta.”

The nine new recovery communities being planned or built in Alberta include Red Deer, Lethbridge, Gunn, Blood Tribe, Enoch, Calgary and Grande Prairie. Two others are on the government list for north and central, with no specific locations yet named.

Smith said the Red Deer facility is scheduled to start taking patients next month and the Enoch centre could be open sometime next year.

She was also asked about her government's Compassionate Intervention Act, which could be the first involuntary treatment law in Canada to target addiction.

Smith said ordering people into addiction care would be a "last resort."

"We just want to stop the deaths. That's what this is about," Smith said.

"We've had a number of different things that have been tried over the years and it's not working. So we've got to try something else."

Chief Thomas said "to a certain extent" he supports forced drug treatment as well because people are "in psychosis" and dying in the streets.

Minister of Mental Health and Addiction Nicholas Milliken said the government has made no final decisions on forced treatment legislation, but that officials are doing "due diligence."

Some advocates have spoken out against that approach, arguing it could lead to more overdoses and won't work for people who aren't ready and willing to get clean.