Alberta’s proposed involuntary treatment legislation a threat to public health

The Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) expresses deep concern over the Government of Alberta’s proposed amendments to the Mental Health Act and the creation of an addiction treatment order. These changes, if enacted, would significantly expand the ability to impose involuntary treatment on individuals, including not only those with substance use disorders but anyone who uses substances. CPHA urges the Alberta government to abandon this coercive and ineffective approach and instead adopt evidence-based harm reduction strategies and voluntary treatment options.

Evidence from jurisdictions with involuntary treatment policies shows that compulsory treatment does not reduce drug-related harms, improve long-term health outcomes, or prevent overdose deaths. CPHA’s 2025 position statement on the toxic drug crisis underscores that involuntary treatment can increase the risk of fatal overdose upon release, violate human rights, and deter people from seeking voluntary health care. Further, forced treatment disproportionately affects structurally disadvantaged populations and reinforces stigma and discrimination against people who use substances. Alberta’s current emphasis on involuntary treatment makes no sense given the difficulties and long wait lists faced by individuals seeking voluntary treatment for substance use disorders.

The scope of Alberta’s proposed legislation is particularly alarming. By allowing police, health care professionals, and family members to request an addiction treatment order for any Albertans “who are a danger to themselves or others due to their addiction or substance use,” this bill opens up the potential for sweeping up individuals who do not meet criteria for addiction. Such an approach would expand criminalization under the guise of care, rather than investing in community-based harm reduction, treatment, and social supports that have been proven to save lives.

Since 2016, thousands of Albertans have lost their lives to opioid-related toxicity, including 1,706 deaths in 2023 alone—an alarming 24% increase from the previous year. First Nations Peoples have been disproportionately affected, accounting for 20% of all unintentional opioid poisoning deaths in Alberta between 2016 and 2022, despite representing only 3.4% of the province’s population. CPHA is particularly concerned that this new policy could be used as a form of systemic racism, further criminalizing and discriminating against First Nations Peoples under the guise of treatment rather than addressing the root causes of substance use through culturally appropriate and community-led solutions. Policies that rely on coercion only deepen the crisis.

CPHA calls on the Government of Alberta to abandon the proposed legislation and engage with public health experts, people who use drugs, and community organizations to develop policies that are effective, ethical, and rooted in human rights.