Alberta ‘Charting a Path’ With Its Recovery Approach to Drug Crisis, Says Former Justice Minister

Former Alberta Minister of Justice and Solicitor General Doug Schweitzer speaks at a news conference in Calgary on Dec. 31, 2019. Todd Korol/The Canadian Press

CALGARY—Alberta is leading the way in Canada to tackle the drug crisis by expanding recovery programs and involuntary treatment across the province, rather than using approaches that may intensify addiction, a former provincial justice minister says.

Doug Schweitzer, who served as Alberta’s justice minister from 2019 to 2020, made the comments on Sept. 6 during the Canada Strong and Free Network conference in Calgary, an annual Conservative networking event. He was one of the speakers on a panel about Alberta’s efforts to address drug smuggling and illegal trade, moderated by investigative journalist Sam Cooper.

Investigative journalist Sam Cooper (L) and former Alberta Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer at the Canada Strong and Free Network conference in Calgary on Sept. 6, 2025. Carolina Avendano/The Epoch Times

“I do believe that Alberta is charting a new path in Canada,” Schweitzer said.

“The fact that they are being proactive, saying ‘these people lack the capacity to make decisions for themselves, we’re going to make sure that they get the care,’ is compassionate for them, to hopefully allow them to make reasonable decisions for themselves.”

Alberta earlier this year passed legislation to implement involuntary treatment for people with serious substance addictions. The law allows relatives, guardians, health-care professionals, or police officers to request a treatment order for people “whose addiction or substance use has made them a danger to themselves or others.”

The province approaches drug addiction through its Alberta Recovery Model, which is based on the notion that “recovery is possible” and that people should be able to access and pursue recovery easily, according to the model’s description.

In introducing the bill at the legislature in April, then-Mental Health and Addictions Minister Dan Williams said Albertans shouldn’t have to choose between “compassionate intervention and having safe communities.”

“There is nothing caring and nothing compassionate, there’s nothing Canadian about leaving our loved ones to be stripped of their dignity and, given enough time, stripped of their life to this deadly disease of addiction,” he said.

Critics of recovery-based approaches to addiction say involuntary treatment infringes on human rights.

“This legislation violates the fundamental rights of individuals, undermining personal autonomy and the right to make decisions about one’s own body and healthcare,” said the Canadian Civil Liberties Association in an April 15 press release, responding to Alberta’s bill.

“Involuntary treatment can cause harm, including increased relapse and overdose rates. Coercing individuals into treatment without their consent, based on subjective assessments, is a dangerous step that risks abuse and further stigmatization of vulnerable people.”

During the Sept. 6 panel, speakers also discussed the harm reduction approach to addiction, which aims to mitigate the impacts of drug use rather than eliminate the use itself. This approach, which usually comes with measures like drug decriminalization and supervised consumption sites, has been prominent in provinces like British Columbia and Ontario.

The speakers noted that the federal “safer supply” program, a harm reduction strategy that prescribes opioids to people with addiction to reduce illicit drug use, has led to drug diversion. Last year, the police chief of London, Ont.—the first Canadian city to pilot the program—told a House of Commons committee that these prescribed drugs were being used as “currency” for fentanyl.

Schweitzer said that while there may be obstacles to implementing involuntary treatment in the province, the government should continue to pursue its recovery-based model.

“There’s going to be challenges, but it’s a fight that’s worth having,” he said.