‘Open-Air Drug Use Cannot Be Tolerated’: Alberta Set to Take Firm Action

‘Open-Air Drug Use Cannot Be Tolerated’: Alberta Set to Take Firm Action
A peace officer cruises the streets close to the downtown area of Edmonton on June 15, 2022. The Canadian Press/Jason Franson
Tara MacIsaac
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Alberta’s public safety minister is heading a new interagency task force to take action on drug use and homelessness in Edmonton. It aims to create a hybrid justice and health system, a model that could then spread to other cities in Alberta.

“I don’t think you need to walk more than a block to see someone using meth in the open air space,” Edmonton Police Chief Dale McFee said at the announcement of the initiative on Dec. 13. “That’s not acceptable. … So what you see here now is leadership, real leadership to say this is enough.”