Alberta updates involuntary treatment laws, provides update on ER triage doctors
Posted November 5, 2026 11:19 am.
Alberta’s government is updating laws around involuntary treatment for those suffering from addiction, while also providing an update on the state of Alberta’s emergency rooms.
“We’re currently looking at existing facilities and existing beds that we can switch over and get compassionate intervention going. I want to get it going early this spring,” said Rick Wilson, Alberta’s minister of mental health and addiction.
The province introduced Bill 39 Wednesday, which the government says will strengthen coordination between different health-care sectors when it comes to involuntary treatment for Alberta’s vulnerable population. Wilson says the government is finalizing building and procuring treatment beds for patients.
Alberta’s government also provided an update Wednesday on promised triage doctors in emergency rooms meant to ease long wait times in the province’s busiest hospitals.
“We have a number of facilities across the province, I know of five the other day when I was briefed, that have doctors actively signing up. More are coming on every single day,” said Adriana LaGrange, the minister of hospital and surgical health services.
Minister LaGrange says she will have more to say about triage doctors in a few weeks.
But the leader of Alberta’s Opposition called out involuntary care in the legislature, telling CityNews the province is failing to fund supports that help keep Alberta’s vulnerable off the streets.
“They’ve been talking about involuntary treatment, which we know doesn’t work in the absence of housing supports,” said Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi. “In the absence of making sure people have somewhere to go when they leave, and they don’t go right back to their risky lifestyle. I’ve heard nothing about them trying to actually create this program. They’re just spending a lot of money on constructing spaces.”
