Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

“It’s time to put some water in our wine.” This quote from a local progressive MP, published in this very colummn space back in 2023, refers to the addiction crisis unfolding in families and communities nationwide.

It means we need to adopt new approaches to address this crisis, even if they don’t neatly align with our current way of thinking.

In Edmonton, I believe our community must support involuntary treatment—or compassionate intervention, which the Government of Alberta plans to introduce in the upcoming spring legislative session.

Involuntary treatment for drug addiction refers to mandated medical and psychological care provided without consent, typically to prevent harm to the individual or others.

Over the decades, both in community work and as an elected official, I believed that every strategy had merit. People come to addiction with diverse circumstances: pain, trauma, family dysfunction and mental illness. How could a single solution address such complexity?

But today’s reality forces a shift in perspective. The severity of addiction and the lethal nature of the current toxic drug supply are starkly visible — particularly to those working downtown, taking transit, or watching loved ones languish in addiction.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Harm-reduction strategies, while rooted in empathy and the desire to keep people alive for another day, have lost ground. What I see now is slow but certain death — maybe not today or tomorrow, but soon — for the human beings lost among us.

The provincial government’s focus on recovery and building a recovery-oriented system of care begins with hope and belief: hope that people will not only stay alive but also live full lives.

There is more to life than lingering in the shadows — still in plain view — playing roulette with drug dealers and suffering daily on the edge of demise.

While harm reduction remains a critical part of the conversation, there is little courage to embrace it where it’s most needed.

Consider Boyle Street Community Services’ recent attempt to open a Health Hub near Old Strathcona. This modest proposal included healthcare support for unhoused individuals and three small overdose prevention booths — three chairs, separated by curtains, with a nurse monitoring users to ensure their street drugs wouldn’t kill them.

Finding a willing landlord for such services is nearly impossible. When one is found, community and political support are essential.

Yet, the classic NIMBY refrain echoed: “Of course we understand the need, but this is the wrong location!” Ask any neighbourhood, and it’s always the wrong location. This is why political representatives must step up, show courage, and support organizations like Boyle Street, which can’t simply relocate to “the right place.” Boyle Street, like all agencies, has its normal blind spots. But in this case, they went above and beyond to accommodate community concerns. Yet, not a single local political leader voiced support.

The same politicians who decry the erosion of harm reduction services elsewhere hid in the shadows when leadership was needed here.

Without political will to locate harm reduction services where they’re needed, these programs remain ideas without a home.

This brings us back to compassionate intervention. It’s not the only tool, but it’s a necessary one. It isn’t incarceration or criminalization, as some claim — it’s life-saving care that can be the first step toward treatment and recovery.

It won’t be appropriate for everyone, but it must be available for some.

Back when I served on City Council, advocating for permanent supportive housing, I might not have supported this approach. But I’ve put some water in my wine.

I now agree with the direction of the provincial government and Minister Dan Williams. They are trying to save lives.

Michael Walters is a partner at Berlin Communications, and a former Edmonton city councillor.