Appeal to stop ID requirements at Alberta’s SCSs dismissed

Jan 31, 2022 | 3:29 PM

EDMONTON – Alberta’s top court has dismissed an appeal from harm reduction advocates who wanted to stop a provincial policy that requires people who want to use a supervised consumption site to provide their health-card number to get inside.

The rule came into force today.

The Alberta Court of Appeal heard the emergency request on Friday after a judge denied an application earlier this month that would have immediately suspended the requirement.

The Appeal Court says in its decision that the chambers judge accepted that there is “an opioid epidemic in Alberta,” but added that the solutions are not obvious.

Moms Stop the Harm, one of the applicants, previously told LNN that some users of illicit drugs would be too worried about being targeted by the justice system if they have to show their personal health number. This, the group argues, would result in more people using drugs on the streets and dying as a result.

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The three Appeal Court judges wrote in their decision that the new rule is part of an overall strategy to respond to the opioid overdose epidemic within the broader framework of the healthcare system.

The decision also says that, while the judge was satisfied the advocacy groups met the burden of establishing that irreparable harm would occur to some users of illicit drugs, he found it is extremely challenging to estimate how many users might possibly be deterred by the requirement.

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(The Canadian Press)

by David Opinko / with files from The Canadian Press

Appeal to stop ID requirements at Alberta’s SCSs dismissed

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