Alberta to Invest $275M in Addictions and Mental Health

Speaking at the sixth annual Alberta Recovery Conference on Tuesday, Premier Danielle Smith said the government will increase its funding of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction to $275 million in next week’s budget.

The conference is a government-funded two-day summit that addresses the province’s recovery and abstinence care model such as drug supply and supervised consumption sites.

According to her, if the budget passes, funding for the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions would represent “record-breaking investments to a comprehensive mental-health and addiction care system.”

The budget will be presented in the legislature on February 28. She said “It’s clear that now is the time to continue investing in our system of care for Albertans.”

Smith said the “key priorities” of the addictions strategy includes increasing harm-reduction programs, increasing partnership with indigenous communities for and intensifying recovery and treatment access.

She said that “the projects will start coming into operation this year with the completion of the Red Deer Recovery Community, the Lethbridge Recovery Community, and the Gunn Recovery Community.”

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