ST. PAUL – Alberta Minister of Mental Health and Addiction Dan Williams visited St. Paul last week, accompanied by Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul MLA Scott Cyr.
Cyr explained that the visit was part of the Minister’s broader efforts to engage with communities in Alberta, particularly rural areas like the Lakeland region, including Bonnyville and Cold Lake.
According to Cyr, the visit involved meetings with First Nations representatives, municipal leaders, and law enforcement, to discuss mental health and addiction issues.
As part of the visit, the minister had a meeting with local stakeholders at the Mannawanis Native Friendship Centre (MNFC) on July 23 in St. Paul. This also included representatives of the local RCMP detachment, Town of St. Paul Mayor Maureen Miller, First Nation leaders, as well as the St. Paul & District Chamber of Commerce.
“I was invited by MLA [Scott] Cyr here to make sure that I understood what was going on in the local communities when it comes to mental health and addiction,” Williams told Lakeland This Week, after the July 23 meeting. But he says he was also interested to hear “success stories” and understand the work being done by groups in the region, like the MNFC or the St. Therese-St. Paul Healthcare Centre.
He was also available to hear about any areas needing reform, and potentially identify gaps in the system.
Alberta’s plan
When asked what was discussed during the meeting at the MNFC, Williams mentioned the Alberta Recovery Model.
The model “adopts a recovery-oriented approach for addiction and mental health,” according to information from the government of Alberta.
The Alberta Recovery Model is a system that offers a range of services, from prevention and early intervention to treatment and recovery, through a coordinated network of community-based programs.
Williams explained this means various organizations and community groups must work together.
The minister said that Alberta's approach to addiction treatment, compared to the rest of Canada, focuses on recovery rather than harm-reduction strategies like drug consumption sites or safe supply programs – which are approaches that Williams believes can do more harm than good.
“It's been an escalation of facilitating addiction,” he says, speaking about drug consumption sites seen in other parts of the country.
Williams described Alberta’s model as a more hopeful vision, aiming to return individuals to their communities in healthier conditions.
“Tragically, [because of] the nature of addiction, eventually [and] sadly, they end up dead unless we intervene with recovery... And so, a lot of our conversation was [on] how to partner on that vision, both in the small ways and in the really big ways,” says Williams.
Cyr echoed Williams' sentiments, also expressing criticism of harm reduction policies in other parts of Canada.
“When it comes to our communities, and that includes our First Nations and Métis communities, not one of them is asking for safe supplies,” said to Cyr. “They’re all asking for recovery... to see their family members get better.”
Detox Facility
Mayor Maureen Miller said that the idea of a dedicated detox facility in the region was explored during the St. Paul meeting. While there may be detox services that have been set up in the region, there is no actual “designated [facility] with staff dedicated to detox,” she said, explaining trained staff members are necessary to appropriately respond to those needing services.
She said they also talked about the possibility of developing a treatment centre within the region, as well as before and after care following detox or treatment.
The idea is to develop a system or a process to help individuals transition from detox or treatment to aftercare, then ultimately back into their community. Treatment does not happen overnight.
“There’s a process. We need to safely support that person through that,” said Miller.
She also expressed her thanks for Williams’ visit.
“He was able to first-hand hear from frontline support systems.”