Addiction group turns down request from Alberta’s associate health minister to speak at Calgary event

Calgary’s International Overdose Awareness Day is scheduled to take place at City Hall on August 31. The event is a chance to raise awareness about addictions and educate the public about the benefits of providing solutions.

There will be guest speakers, including many people who have struggled with addictions. But one person who is not expected to give a speech is Alberta’s associate health minister Brandy Payne.

“It’s a time for us to remember and honour the lives of those we’ve lost and we didn’t think it was an appropriate place for political marketing,” said Rosalind Davis, co-founder of Changing the Face of Addiction, a Calgary based non-profit which is helping organize the event.

Minister Payne’s request to speak at the Overdose Awareness Day event was rejected in an open letter published on Thursday.

“International Overdose Awareness Day is not a time for government to deliver crafted and canned ‘key messages’ about what is being done. It is a time to support families and friends and to remember those who have lost their lives because of what is not being done. It is a time to call for what needs to be done and to motivate action,” Changing the Face of Addiction said in the statement. “So, we have invited and confirmed speakers who have lived experience with substance-use disorders, families who have lost loved ones, and those fearless, passionate front line care providers and experts who are fighting for those impacted by this epidemic. Thousands of Albertans depend on your government to heed the voices of these people.”

“While we appreciate the increased access to naloxone and the recent commitment to supervised consumption services, the steps taken and the level of attention the overdose epidemic has received in the provincial government does not reflect the magnitude and urgency of this threat to human health.”

Davis said there has been a lack of a sense of urgency from the provincial government on opioid addictions.

“While they have done some good things, like increasing access to naloxone and their commitment to supervised consumption services, we don’t believe they are acting fast enough or putting enough resources towards the epidemic,” Davis said. “Government needs to declare a public health emergency. We need to be committing resources.  We need to be acting now and there can’t be delays.  We can’t be waiting months for supervised consumption services to be available. I do believe that if they were able to declare that emergency we could see those initiatives happen.”

In March, the NDP government said it would spend $7 million on post treatment housing units at Fresh Start Recovery Centre in Calgary. A $1.2 million grant was recently announced for renovations at a proposed supervised consumption site planned for Calgary.

On Saturday, Brandy Payne’s office issued the following statement to Global News on the matter.

“We know that the opioids crisis continues to be devastating for families around the province. We will work with the organizers to determine what role for government would be most respectful to them and their families. I want to thank the organizers for the invitation to attend and I look forward to hearing directly from those affected by the opioid crisis. Our goal is to honour their lived experience with substance use,” Payne said in the statement.

Stacey Petersen, executive director of Fresh Start Recovery Centre, respects the decision to turn down the NDP speech but he doesn’t think it helps the crisis.

“I don’t think it’s an easy question to answer. I think the addiction issue in our city and our province is multifaceted and it’s going to take a multifaceted approach by many different players. And I applaud all the groups out there that are doing anything to support addiction recovery because we are reaching a critical mass of awareness around addiction and recovery in our community and we can all make a difference,” Petersen said.

Petersen was speaking at the annual 12 Stop Ride for Recovery event in Calgary on Saturday.  The motorbike ride around southern Alberta is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the recovery centre.

“Just by being here (at the event) today, they are part of the recovery solution. Every single one of us, whether we believe it or not, has been impacted by addiction in some way or another.  Every person who rides here today whether they know it or not is potentially saving somebody’s life,” Petersen said.

Calgary’s International Overdose Awareness Day is one of 36 events being held across Canada.