Community advocates and health policy experts say they have more questions than answers when it comes to drug treatment legislation to be introduced this fall by the Saskatchewan government.
Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill said details on how the legislation will work will be shared when it is officially introduced at the legislature.
However, speaking to media on Wednesday, Cockrill said the act is a “recovery-oriented system of care” for a “small subset of people” facing addictions. He also said the act is designed to keep communities safe and maintain the dignity of the person requiring help from addictions.
Cockrill added that voluntary treatment should be the first choice and noted that factors around involuntary treatment and how it may impede Charter rights will be addressed when the act is introduced.
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Prairie Harm Reduction’s Kayla DeMong says she anticipated the move was coming, but wants more details about how it will all play out.
“How is this different from incarceration, and who will be targeted with this?” she asked.
University of Saskatchewan assistant professor Barb Fornssler has researched substance use for more than a decade and says providing treatment against someone’s will may not be the best route forward.
“There’s very few places, for good reason, in our medical system where you can be forced into a procedure without your consent as an individual, and it’s important that we limit that because the health system is not supposed to be like the criminal justice system,” said Fornssler.
Policymakers also need to be clear about the parameters around the new legislation in a way that is transparent, since there is no evidence that proves involuntary treatment is the right solution, said Dr. Alexander Caudarella, CEO of the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction.
“When it comes to involuntary care, the literature, the science isn’t clear about if it works, if it doesn’t. But one thing that is clear is that voluntary care works better,” Caudarella said.
Aside from forced treatment, DeMong says she wants to see more focus on addiction treatment overall, such as through detox programs and increased treatment beds.
On Wednesday, Cockrill said that around 300 of the government’s previously announced 500 treatment beds are in place, and that the next batch of beds will also have a focus on after-treatment care.
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