Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer. (Supplied by United Conservative Party)

By David Opinko

Schweitzer weighs in

Justice Minister on SCS issues in Lethbridge, what the future could hold

Jul 18, 2020 | 3:47 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Alberta’s Minister of Justice says Lethbridge needs continued investments and strategies to deal with the drug crisis, supervised consumption or not.

LNN spoke to Doug Schweitzer following Thursday’s announcement that the Government of Alberta is pulling its funding to ARCHES, the agency that runs the city’s supervised consumption site (SCS).

Note: We are waiting for an interview with the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, but a spokesperson told us in the meantime that the government does not have the authority to shut the SCS down. That decision will have to come from ARCHES, whose board of directors said in a press release that they “are waiting to comment until we have all of the information.”

While SCS’s do not fall under Schweitzer’s ministry, he feels it is likely that the facility will cease to operate.

“I highly suspect that place is going to be shut down just given the turmoil it’s caused, how it’s been run, how the taxpayer dollars have been used there. It’s just simply not a well-run organization and I can’t see it continuing on.”

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“The approach that was being driven was not working for communities. We’ve heard it loud and clear at the town halls and other places the havoc that it’s causing, particularly in our downtowns. I’ve been through the downtown in Lethbridge and seen it, its impact on small businesses, and peoples’ willingness to come down.”

While a longer-term solution is worked out, a mobile SCS will be sent to Lethbridge. It is unclear at this time what services it will offer or in what capacity, nor when we can expect it to arrive.

On the topic of longer-term solutions, Schweitzer said it will be important to continue to focus on the full spectrum of care.

“There’s groups out there saying, you know, defund the police and things like that, but if you look at what they’re asking for, our government’s actually been working on for over a full year. Having that Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, having us make the largest investment into therapeutic courts in the country – we’re at the forefront of the whole country when it comes to therapeutic courts like drug treatment courts, Indigenous courts, mental health courts.”

We have seen announcements this year of a new drug treatment court and an $11-million supportive housing facility in Lethbridge and an expanded Indigenous treatment centre on the Blood Reserve, as well as additional law enforcement funding for both communities.

From a policing side of things, Schweitzer says many of the changes we can expect in the coming years will be part of the review of the Police Act.

He previously told LNN that he wants to revamp the “outdated” aspects of policing in Alberta such as the ways in which oversight, accountability, and community representation are currently handled.

There will also need to be a more clear distinction in how law enforcers handle serious crimes including those relating to the drug trade versus a person who needs help overcoming substance addiction.

“We need to make sure that these violent crimes, sexual assaults, murders and those things need to go through really aggressive court processes to make sure people are going to jail, but when it comes to people that are suffering from mental health and addictions issues, we’ve approached it in a way that we have to give those people options to recover, so it’s that balanced and well-rounded approach is the way to go.”

Consultations on the Police Act have already begun with municipalities, Indigenous leaders, and police forces.

Potentially this fall, Schweitzer will look to engage with the general public.

“There will definitely be the ability for the public to consult with it. Normally, I’d say yeah, we’ll be down there holding a town hall, but in the pandemic environment, we’re trying to get creative in how we get peoples’ feedback in, so there will be more details in the ability to communicate with us online as well.”

LNN has reached out to ARCHES for further comments on the financial audit and the future of the SCS, but we have not heard back at this time.

(Lethbridge News Now)