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New organizations for mental health and addictions to provide focused care and take pressure off health system

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Addictions

New organizations for mental health and addictions to provide focused care and take pressure off health system

Government of Alberta

Published

1 year ago

10 minute read

Refocusing health care: mental health and addiction

Alberta’s government is creating two new organizations that will support the development of the mental health and addiction system of care.

In November 2023, Alberta’s government announced it would be refocusing health care with the creation of four new organizations that will be responsible for the oversight and delivery of health care services in the province. The four new organizations include acute care, continuing care, primary care and mental health and addiction. The mental health and addiction organization will be the first of these to be established when it becomes an entity later this year.

The new mental health and addiction organization, Recovery Alberta, will be responsible for the delivery of mental health and addiction services currently delivered by Alberta Health Services (AHS). In addition, Alberta’s government is establishing the Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence (CoRE) to support Alberta’s government in building recovery-oriented systems of care by researching best practices for recovery from around the world, analyzing data and making evidence-based recommendations.

“Refocusing health care enables us to better prioritize the health care and services Albertans need. Giving Albertans living with mental health or addiction challenges an opportunity to pursue recovery and live a contributing life is the responsible and compassionate thing to do. I am so proud of the work we have done to be leaders on recovery, and I am looking forward to seeing both Recovery Alberta and the Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence continue this work for years to come.”

Danielle Smith, Premier

“Alberta is leading the country with the development of the Alberta Recovery Model to address mental health and addiction challenges. The establishment of these two new organizations will support the delivery of recovery-oriented services to Albertans and will further cement Alberta as a leader in the field. We are proud to establish Recovery Alberta and CoRE as part of the Alberta Recovery Model.”

Dan Williams, Minister of Mental Health and Addiction

“We’re making good progress on refocusing health care in Alberta. Today marks a pivotal milestone towards creating a system that truly serves the needs of Albertans. Through this refocused approach, our aim is to prioritize the needs of individuals and families to find a primary care provider, get urgent care without long waits, access the best continuing care options, and have robust support systems for addiction recovery and mental health treatment.”

Adriana LaGrange, Minister of Health

Recovery Alberta

In August 2023, Alberta’s Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction began the process of consolidating the delivery of mental health and addiction services within AHS, a process that was completed in November 2023 with no disruption to services.

Recovery Alberta will report to the Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction and further support the Ministry’s mandate to provide high-quality, recovery-oriented mental health and addiction services to Albertans. It is anticipated Recovery Alberta will be fully operational by summer 2024 and will operate with an annual budget of $1.13 billion from Alberta’s government. This funding currently supports the delivery of mental health and addiction services through AHS.

The current provincial leadership team for Addiction and Mental Health and Correctional Health Services within AHS will form the leadership team of Recovery Alberta. When Recovery Alberta is fully established, Kerry Bales, the current Chief Program Officer for Addiction and Mental Health and Correctional Health Services within AHS will be appointed as CEO. Dr. Nick Mitchell, Provincial Medical Director, Addiction and Mental Health and Correctional Health Services within AHS, will become the Provincial Medical Director for Recovery Alberta.

“Recovery Alberta will build on the strong foundation of existing mental health and addiction services that staff and clinicians deliver. By working closely with Alberta Mental Health and Addiction and the Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence, Recovery Alberta will continue to set a high standard of care for mental health and addiction recovery across the province, and beyond.”

Kerry Bales, chief executive officer (incoming), Recovery Alberta

“Albertans deserve patient-centered care when and where they need it. By establishing Recovery Alberta, we have an opportunity to work together in a new way to make that a reality for our patients and our communities.”

Dr. Nicholas Mitchell, provincial medical director (incoming), Recovery Alberta

While timelines are dependent on legislative amendments yet to be introduced, the Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction is aiming to establish the corporate structure of Recovery Alberta by June 3. Following the establishment of the corporate structure and executive team, staff and services would begin operation under the banner of Recovery Alberta on July 1.

Frontline workers and service providers will continue to be essential to care for Albertans. To ensure stability of services to Albertans, there will be no changes to terms and conditions of employment for AHS addiction and mental health staff transitioning to Recovery Alberta. Additionally, there will be no changes to grants or contracts for service providers currently under agreement with AHS upon establishment of Recovery Alberta.

Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence (CoRE)

Alberta’s government has been leading the country in creating a system focused on recovery by building on evidence-based best practices from around the world. In five years, Alberta has removed user fees for treatment, increased publicly funded treatment capacity by 55 per cent and built two recovery communities with nine more on the way. Alberta’s government has also pioneered new best practices such as making evidence-based treatment medication available same day with no cost and no waitlist across the province through the Virtual Opioid Dependency Program.

To continue the innovative work required to improve the mental health and addiction system, Alberta’s government is creating the Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence to inform best practices in mental health and addiction, conduct research and program evaluation and support the development of evidence-based policies for mental health and addiction. CoRE will be established as a crown corporation through legislation to be introduced this spring.

Alberta’s government has committed $5 million through Budget 2024 to support the establishment of CoRE. It is anticipated CoRE will be operational by this summer.

The CoRE leadership team will consist of Kym Kaufmann, former Deputy Minister of Mental Health and Community Wellness in Manitoba as the CEO. She will be supported by Dr. Nathaniel Day as Chief Scientific Officer of CoRE. Dr. Day currently serves as the Medical Director of Addiction and Mental Health within AHS.

“There is a need for more scientific evidence on how best to help those impacted by addiction within our society. The Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence will generate new and expanded evidence on the most effective means to support individuals to start and sustain recovery.”

Kym Kaufmann, chief executive officer (incoming), Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence

“The Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence will provide the research and data we need to understand what works best when it comes to recovery. This new expertise and expanded evidence will provide us with further insight into how we can support communities, service providers and frontline staff to effectively help those living with addiction and mental health challenges.”

Dr. Nathaniel Day, chief scientific officer (incoming), Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence

Quick facts

  • Budget 2024 will invest more than $1.55 billion to continue building the Alberta Recovery Model.
    • This includes a $1.13 billion transfer from Health to Mental Health and Addiction (MHA) for mental health and addiction services currently delivered by Alberta Health Services.
  • Virtual engagement sessions for AHS staff and service providers will be held on April 11, 16, 17 and 22.

Related information

  • Recovery Alberta
  • Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence
  • Refocusing health care in Alberta

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Related Topics:#Addictions#AlbertaHealth#CanadianCentreOfRecoveryExcellence#CoRE#MentalHealth#ProvinceofAlberta#RecoveryAlbertafeature
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Addictions

‘Over and over until they die’: Drug crisis pushes first responders to the brink

Published on July 9, 2025

By

Todayville

By Alexandra Keeler

First responders say it is not overdoses that leave them feeling burned out—it is the endless cycle of calls they cannot meaningfully resolve

The soap bottle just missed his head.

Standing in the doorway of a cluttered Halifax apartment, Derek, a primary care paramedic, watched it smash against the wall.

Derek was there because the woman who threw it had called 911 again — she did so nearly every day. She said she had chest pain. But when she saw the green patch on his uniform, she erupted. Green meant he could not give her what she wanted: fentanyl.

She screamed at him to call “the red tags” — advanced care paramedics authorized to administer opioids. With none available, Derek declared the scene unsafe and left. Later that night, she called again. This time, a red-patched unit was available. She got her dose.

Derek says he was not angry at the woman, but at the system that left her trapped in addiction — and him powerless to help.

First responders across Canada say it is not overdoses that leave them feeling burned out — it is the endless cycle of calls they cannot meaningfully resolve. Understaffed, overburdened and dispatched into crises they are not equipped to fix, many feel morally and emotionally drained.

“We’re sending our first responders to try and manage what should otherwise be dealt with at structural and systemic levels,” said Nicholas Carleton, a University of Regina researcher who studies the mental health of public safety personnel.

Canadian Affairs agreed to use pseudonyms for the two frontline workers referenced in this story. Canadian Affairs also spoke with nine other first responders who agreed to speak only on background. All of these sources cited concerns about workplace retaliation for speaking out.

Moral injury

Canada’s opioid crisis is pushing frontline workers such as paramedics to the brink.

A 2024 study of 350 Quebec paramedics shows one in three have seriously considered suicide. Globally, ambulance workers have among the highest suicide rates of public service personnel.

Between 2017 and 2024, Canadian paramedics responded to nearly 240,000 suspected opioid overdoses. More than 50,000 of those were fatal.

Yet many paramedics say overdose calls are not the hardest part of the job.

“When they do come up, they’re pretty easy calls,” said Derek. Naloxone, a drug that reverses overdoses, is readily available. “I can actually fix the problem,” he said. “[It’s a] bit of instant gratification, honestly.”

What drains him are the calls they cannot fix: mental health crises, child neglect and abuse, homelessness.

“The ER has a [cardiac catheterization] lab that can do surgery in minutes to fix a heart attack. But there’s nowhere I can bring the mental health patients.

“So they call. And they call. And they call.”

Thomas, a primary care paramedic in Eastern Ontario, echoes that frustration.

“The ER isn’t a good place to treat addiction,” he said. “They need intensive, long-term psychological inpatient treatment and a healthy environment and support system — first responders cannot offer that.”

That powerlessness erodes trust. Paramedics say patients with addictions often become aggressive, or stop seeking help altogether.

“We have a terrible relationship with the people in our community struggling with addiction,” Thomas said. “They know they will sit in an ER bed for a few hours while being in withdrawals and then be discharged with a waitlist or no follow-up.”

Carleton, of the University of Regina, says that reviving people repeatedly without improvement decreases morale.

“You’re resuscitating someone time and time again,” said Carleton, who is also director of the Psychological Trauma and Stress Systems Lab, a federal unit dedicated to mental health research for public safety personnel. “That can lead to compassion fatigue … and moral injury.”

Katy Kamkar, a clinical psychologist focused on first responder mental health, says moral injury arises when workers are trapped in ethically impossible situations — saving a life while knowing that person will be back in the same state tomorrow.

“Burnout is … emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment,” she said in an emailed statement. “High call volumes, lack of support or follow-up care for patients, and/or bureaucratic constraints … can increase the risk of reduced empathy, absenteeism and increased turnover.”

Kamkar says moral injury affects all branches of public safety, not just paramedics. Firefighters, who are often the first to arrive on the scene, face trauma from overdose deaths. Police report distress enforcing laws that criminalize suffering.

Subscribe for free to get BTN’s latest news and analysis – or donate to our investigative journalism fund.

Understaffed and overburdened

Staffing shortages are another major stressor.

“First responders were amazing during the pandemic, but it also caused a lot of fatigue, and a lot of people left our business because of stress and violence,” said Marc-André Périard, vice president of the Paramedic Chiefs of Canada.

Nearly half of emergency medical services workers experience daily “Code Blacks,” where there are no ambulances available. Vacancy rates are climbing across emergency services. The federal government predicts paramedic shortages will persist over the coming decade, alongside moderate shortages of police and firefighters.

Unsafe work conditions are another concern. Responders enter chaotic scenes where bystanders — often fellow drug users — mistake them for police. Paramedics can face hostility from patients they just saved, says Périard.

“People are upset that they’ve been taken out of their high [when Naloxone is administered] and not realizing how close to dying they were,” he said.

Thomas says safety is undermined by vague, inconsistently enforced policies. And efforts to collect meaningful data can be hampered by a work culture that punishes reporting workplace dangers.

“If you report violence, it can come back to haunt you in performance reviews” he said.

Some hesitate to wait for police before entering volatile scenes, fearing delayed response times.

“[What] would help mitigate violence is to have management support their staff directly in … waiting for police before arriving at the scene, support paramedics in leaving an unsafe scene … and for police and the Crown to pursue cases of violence against health-care workers,” Thomas said.

“Right now, the onus is on us … [but once you enter], leaving a scene is considered patient abandonment,” he said.

Upstream solutions

Carleton says paramedics’ ability to refer patients to addiction and mental health referral networks varies widely based on their location. These networks rely on inconsistent local staffing, creating a patchwork system where people easily fall through the cracks.

“[Any] referral system butts up really quickly against the challenges our health-care system is facing,” he said. “Those infrastructures simply don’t exist at the size and scale that we need.”

Périard agrees. “There’s a lot of investment in safe injection sites, but not as much [resources] put into help[ing] these people deal with their addictions,” he said.

Until that changes, the cycle will continue.

On May 8, Alberta renewed a $1.5 million grant to support first responders’ mental health. Carleton welcomes the funding, but says it risks being futile without also addressing understaffing, excessive workloads and unsafe conditions.

“I applaud Alberta’s investment. But there need to be guardrails and protections in place, because some programs should be quickly dismissed as ineffective — but they aren’t always,” he said.

Carleton’s research found that fewer than 10 mental health programs marketed to Canadian governments — out of 300 in total — are backed up by evidence showing their effectiveness.

In his view, the answer is not complicated — but enormous.

“We’ve got to get way further upstream,” he said.

“We’re rapidly approaching more and more crisis-level challenges… with fewer and fewer [first responders], and we’re asking them to do more and more.”


This article was produced through the Breaking Needles Fellowship Program, which provided a grant to Canadian Affairs, a digital media outlet, to fund journalism exploring addiction and crime in Canada. Articles produced through the Fellowship are co-published by Break The Needle and Canadian Affairs.


Subscribe to Break The Needle
Launched a year ago Break The Needle provides news and analysis on addiction and crime in Canada.

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Addictions

New RCMP program steering opioid addicted towards treatment and recovery

Published on June 14, 2025

By

Todayville

News release from Alberta RCMP

Virtual Opioid Dependency Program serves vulnerable population in Red Deer

Since April 2024, your Alberta RCMP’s Community Safety and Well-being Branch (CSWB) has been piloting the Virtual Opioid Dependency Program (VODP) program in Red Deer to assist those facing opioid dependency with initial-stage intervention services. VODP is a collaboration with the Government of Alberta, Recovery Alberta, and the Alberta RCMP, and was created to help address opioid addiction across the province.

Red Deer’s VODP consists of two teams, each consisting of a police officer and a paramedic. These teams cover the communities of Red Deer, Innisfail, Blackfalds and Sylvan Lake. The goal of the program is to have frontline points of contact that can assist opioid users by getting them access to treatment, counselling, and life-saving medication.

The Alberta RCMP’s role in VODP:

  • Conducting outreach in the community, on foot, by vehicle, and even UTV, and interacting with vulnerable persons and talking with them about treatment options and making VODP referrals.
  • Attending calls for service in which opioid use may be a factor, such as drug poisonings, open drug use in public, social diversion calls, etc.
  • Administering medication such as Suboxone and Sublocade to opioid users who are arrested and lodged in RCMP cells and voluntarily wish to participate in VODP; these medications help with withdrawal symptoms and are the primary method for treating opioid addiction. Individuals may be provided ongoing treatment while in police custody or incarceration.
  • Collaborating with agencies in the treatment and addiction space to work together on client care. Red Deer’s VODP chairs a quarterly Vulnerable Populations Working Group meeting consisting of a number of local stakeholders who come together to address both client and community needs.

While accountability for criminal actions is necessary, the Alberta RCMP recognizes that opioid addiction is part of larger social and health issues that require long-term supports. Often people facing addictions are among offenders who land in a cycle of criminality. As first responders, our officers are frequently in contact with these individuals. We are ideally placed to help connect those individuals with the VODP. The Alberta RCMP helps those individuals who wish to participate in the VODP by ensuring that they have access to necessary resources and receive the medical care they need, even while they are in police custody.

Since its start, the Red Deer program has made nearly 2,500 referrals and touchpoints with individuals, discussing VODP participation and treatment options. Some successes of the program include:

  • In October 2024, Red Deer VODP assessed a 35-year-old male who was arrested and in police custody. The individual was put in contact with medical care and was prescribed and administered Suboxone. The team members did not have any contact with the male again until April 2025 when the individual visited the detachment to thank the team for treating him with care and dignity while in cells, and for getting him access to treatment. The individual stated he had been sober since, saying the treatment saved his life.

 

  • In May 2025, the VODP team worked with a 14-year-old female who was arrested on warrants and lodged in RCMP cells. She had run away from home and was located downtown using opioids. The team spoke to the girl about treatment, was referred to VODP, and was administered Sublocade to treat her addiction. During follow-up, the team received positive feedback from both the family and the attending care providers.

The VODP provides same-day medication starts, opioid treatment transition services, and ongoing opioid dependency care to people anywhere in Alberta who are living with opioid addiction. Visit vodp.ca to learn more.

“This collaboration between Alberta’s Government, Recovery Alberta and the RCMP is a powerful example of how partnerships between health and public safety can change lives. The Virtual Opioid Dependency Program can be the first step in a person’s journey to recovery,” says Alberta’s Minister of Mental Health and Addiction Rick Wilson. “By connecting people to treatment when and where they need it most, we are helping build more paths to recovery and to a healthier Alberta.”

“Part of the Alberta RCMP’s CSWB mandate is the enhancement of public safety through community partnerships,” says Supt. Holly Glassford, Detachment Commander of Red Deer RCMP. “Through VODP, we are committed to building upon community partnerships with social and health agencies, so that we can increase accessibility to supports in our city and reduce crime in Red Deer. Together we are creating a stronger, safer Alberta.”

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