Rallies call on government to help Albertans ‘dying for access’ in drug crisis

By Lethbridge Herald on February 23, 2022.

A small group listens as words are read from family and friends honouring loved ones lost to the drug crisis during a vigil held by Albertans for Ethical Drug Policy Wednesday evening at Galt Gardens. Herald photo by Ian Martens

Alejandra Pulido-Guzman – Lethbridge Herald

Albertans for Ethical Drug Policy held “Dying for Access” rallies and vigils in Calgary, Edmonton and Lethbridge on Wednesday, to call for urgent government action to curb Alberta’s worsening drug poisoning crisis and for the removal of harmful barriers to accessing life-saving services.

The Lethbridge rally took place Wednesday evening at Galt Gardens where a small group braved the cold to stand in solidarity with people who use drugs, and in remembrance of the many lives lost.

Albertans for Ethical Drug Policy (AEDP), is a coalition of organizations, businesses, institutions, individual advocates, experts, and people who have lived or are living with the experience of criminalized drug use.

“In light of the reality on the ground, it is absolutely necessary for us as Community Outreach groups to come together to support the community to collaborate and provide support for people affected by this poisoning crisis to help keep people safer and healthier, but most importantly alive,” said Shanell Twan, Canadian Association of People Who Use Drugs (CAPUD), in a release to the media.

Albertans for Ethical Drug Policy say they are calling on the Government of Alberta to expand supervised consumption services and reopen closed sites, scrap what they call harmful provincial regulations for consumption services, provide access to safe regulated substances to replace toxic street drugs and offer rapid, barrier-free access to medical detox and evidence-based treatment.

“The UCP are full of empty promises. Where’s the new recovery facility promised for Lethbridge? Inquiring minds want to know – We’re watching you and tracking your unfulfilled promises,” said Lori Hatfield, Moms Stop the Harm – Lethbridge, in a media release.

“People are still dying. We don’t have adequate facilities here in Lethbridge,” said Hatfield before leading those gathered at Galt Gardens in a reading honouring the memory of those lost to the drug crisis.

The AEDP states the Alberta Government’s latest barrier, new regulations requiring an Alberta health care card to access supervised consumption services, will drive people away from these life-saving services and compound the crisis.

“This is a public health crisis. People are dying for access to supports, and doing so in record numbers. Our governments need to start treating this like the crisis it is by supporting harm reduction efforts, safe consumption sites, safe supply, and moving forward with decriminalization,” said Chris Gallaway, Friends of Medicare, in a release. 

According to the provincial government, there is no requirement to provide a personal health number but the operator must ask for it. Anyone that does not have a PHN should be encouraged to get one to reduce barriers to healthcare, but if they refuse to provide it they will not be turned away.

The AEDP argue the Alberta government is spreading misinformation around safer supply which continues to harm Albertans who use substances and creates chaos in decision-making. 

They believe the crisis is driven not by pharmaceuticals but by volatile contamination in the drug supply, and that we must stop punishing people for using drugs and support them instead by fixing the supply and ensuring everyone has good access to life-saving supports and services where and when they need it.

Mike Ellis, associate minister of Mental Health and Addiction, issued a statement in response to the rallies and the comments made by organizers.

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