Injunction obtained against Red Deer overdose prevention site rollback

Aaron Brown, the plaintiff seeking to stop the Alberta government's closure of Red Deer's only overdose prevention site, won an injunction to halt the government's rollback of the site's operating hours in a Red Deer provincial court decision issued by Justice Gillian Marriott on January 13.

The binding legal decision provides Recovery Alberta with 72 hours to reinstitute full 24/7 operating hours to the site. Recovery Alberta is the new mental health and addiction services agency parcelled away from Alberta Health Services last summer.

Brown's legal application was filed in November by Edmonton lawyer Avnish Nanda. Brown also seeks to halt the full closure of the overdose prevention site, scheduled by the Alberta government for April 1, 2025. A decision on this has yet to be made by the Court, but Justice Marriott commented extensively on the power of Brown's testimony (reprinted in full below) in her January 13 decision. The current injunction stands until March 13.

At age 40, Brown lost his job and custody of his children. He claims that these traumatic events led him to begin using fentanyl and methamphetamine, deepening his isolation. He eventually became unhoused, experienced numerous overdoses and imprisonment, and contracted Hepatitis C.

The Red Deer site's closure was set in motion following a February 2024 vote by Red Deer city council. Correspondence between local United Conservative MLA Jason Stefan and Red Deer city councillor Vesna Higham, pried loose in a freedom of information request by Drug Data Decoded, revealed coordination in late 2022 between the provincial and municipal governments on the closure of the site. In early 2023, Councillor Kraymer Barnstable was forced to apologize after being overheard discussing the "transition" of the overdose prevention site out of Red Deer with "provincial colleagues."

The coordination reached at least as high as then-Minister of Mental Health and Addiction Mike Ellis, who instructed Councillor Higham via MLA Stefan that to initiate the site's closure, Red Deer city council must "request that the province transition the overdose prevention site out of their community." Higham's notice of motion to request the site's closure was advanced at Red Deer city council in December 2023.

In October 2024, a similar approach appears to have been used by Calgary city councillor Dan McLean, who brought forth a notice of motion to have Mayor Jyoti Gondek to request the Province close Calgary's supervised consumption site. After considerable public mobilization, that motion failed. No coordination between McLean and the Province has yet been reported.

Alberta's Mental Health and Addiction ministers have long promoted the view that overdose prevention sites are interchangeable with abstinence-focused services. An Alberta physician, speaking on condition of anonymity, responded to this perspective for Drug Data Decoded, in context with the January 13 court decision:

"What the Government of Alberta thinks is a reasonable alternative (i.e., its Narcotic Transition Services) is ridiculous. There is no alternative to an overdose prevention site, and Justice Marriott affirmed this point in stating that unreasonable treatment choices are not true choices."

This was a key argument advanced during the proceedings by lawyer Avnish Nanda, who has built a sterling reputation making Charter arguments on behalf of people who use drugs. In March 2023, Nanda represented Ophelia Black, who successfully obtained an injunction against the Alberta government to maintain her access to a take-home hydromorphone prescription.

Nanda also represented Lethbridge Overdose Prevention Society and Moms Stop the Harm in their 2021 application to reverse restrictive regulations on supervised consumption sites, which included requiring personal health numbers before accessing services. The groups lost that case on the "balance of convenience" for the government, despite the judge acknowledging "irreparable harm" to people who use drugs. The restrictions have ensured no new sites have opened in Alberta through two United Conservative governments.

In a remarkable coincidence, Moms Stop the Harm co-founder Petra Schulz marked January 13 as her deceased son Danny's tenth birthday since he died of an accidental drug poisoning. Danny's death took place near the eventual location of Boyle Street Community Services supervised consumption site in Edmonton. That building was demolished in 2024, apparently to accommodate new development for the Oilers hockey arena. Schulz told Drug Data Decoded:

"Today is the 10th time we mark our youngest son's birthday without him being with us. A consumption site would have saved his life. This decision means that other families don't have to mark their loved ones' birthdays without them. It means the world to me and it's the best present for Danny's birthday."

All of this leaves the impression of a government that moved quickly to dismantle harm reduction now running face-first into the Charter rights of directly affected people fighting back.

Aaron Brown's affidavit is reprinted in full below and can be viewed here in its original legal form.

See additional reporting by CBC's Madeline Smith.

AFFIDAVIT OF AARON BROWN

Sworn on November 12, 2024
I, Aaron Brown, of Red Deer, Alberta, SWEAR AND SAY THAT

1. I am the Applicant in this action and have personal knowledge of the matters set out in this affidavit.

2. I was born in London, Ontario in 1984. As a kid, I started drinking and smoking weed. It was mainly for social reasons, but I often turned to liquor and weed to take the edge off when I was stressed or to cope with difficult situations in my life.

3. In high school, I was injured while playing hockey and was prescribed opioids to help with the pain. After high school, I started doing cocaine, but occasionally and only when I went out with friends. I mainly drank alcohol and developed a dependency on alcohol, which helped me calm my nerves and deal with the pressures I faced as a young adult.

4. Around 2003, I tried opioids for the first time, taking Oxycodone. I remember how it helped calm me down and allowed me to detach from the world. I never felt like that before.

5. In 2008, I decided to follow some friends to Alberta to work in the oil patch. I worked on service rigs in a variety of different roles, including as a roughneck, derrick hand, and in relief drilling.

6. My life was stable during this period. I was working lots and making more money than I ever imagined. I had relationships with women that resulted in two beautiful kids. I bought a big house in Kentwood, an affluent neighbourhood in Red Deer, along with two fully loaded trucks. I took vacations and provided for the needs of my family and loved ones needs. I was happy. I even cut out alcohol out of my life because I felt that it disrupted the stability I had worked hard to achieve.

7. Everything changed in 2017 when there was a downturn in the Alberta oil patch. Drilling dried up and I could not find work. I could not make my payments and lost my house, trucks, and eventually, custody to my children.

8. I moved to a rundown, destitute area of Red Deer. I started taking hard drugs, including fentanyl and crystal meth. Drugs provided me a sense of relief from my everyday life. They were also so addictive. My body needed fentanyl multiple times a day or I would feel severe, debilitating pain.

My entire life began to revolve around finding and using opioids.

9. I ended up being homeless. I supported my substance use habit by committing petty crimes and was often jailed. My life revolved around being on the streets and stealing to support my substance use. I was frequently jailed for the crimes I did to pay for drugs.

10. Around this time, I was diagnosed with severe opioid use disorder. In jail, I accessed a variety of programs to help me treat my condition. I was on Suboxone and methadone. I accessed counselling. The treatment worked for a bit but when I was released, I would return to street sourced substances, including opioids.

11. I nearly died of overdoses so many times that it is impossible for me to describe each incident. I was resuscitated through NARCAN, CPR, and other methods. I was frequently hospitalized for complications related to my substance use.

12. I also have been forced to consume substances unsafely, including sharing equipment. It was due to this that I likely acquired Hepatitis C. I know that sharing equipment and consuming substances unsafely increases the likelihood of acquiring infections, but my withdrawal symptoms are so strong, including physical pain, that I need to relieve those symptoms immediately rather than wait to find safe supplies. This is how strong my condition is and the extent of my dependency.

13. My circumstances changed dramatically since the overdose prevention site opened in Red Deer. I was nervous about attending it because I have had a negative experience in the health care setting. I feel like health care providers discriminate against me because of my substance use; they are dismissive of my health concerns, provide me poor treatment because my life does not matter as much as those who do not live with opioid use disorder, and generally think my life is disposable and that I should not be treated with the respect and dignity I deserve. My experience at the Red Deer OPS was different. I was not judged because I was a substance user who did not have housing. I felt safe and secure, and that they were vested in ensuring I did not die due to my condition and use of street-sourced opioids.

14. Within a few days, I committed to consuming substances only at the Red Deer OPS. I moved myself to be within short walking distance of the Red Deer OPS because I knew that I needed to ensure I could easily access the facility to consume substances there. The more I consumed substances at the Red Deer OPS meant I was less likely to die of an overdose or acquire serious illnesses. If I only consumed substances at the Red Deer OPS, I could significantly reduce my likelihood of death or suffering other serious health harms. By relocating near the Red Deer OPS, I could reduce barriers to accessing the facility when I wanted to consume substances.

15. I started attending the Red Deer OPS every time I wanted to use substances, which was multiple times each day. There, I access clean supplies, and a supportive caring staff that supervises me each time I consume substances to ensure that I am safe. The staff provides clean supplies to help me inject substances and watches me inject them to ensure I am doing so safely; they also monitor me to ensure I am not having an adverse reaction and that there are no complications with my injection of substances.

16. I have never had an issue at the Red Deer OPS while consuming substances. I have never acquired an infection. When I was consuming substances on the street, in an unsupervised setting, I knew that each time could be my last, and that there was no guarantee that I would survive each dose. I no longer feel that is the case. I feel completely safe and that I have a new lease on life because of the supervised consumption services I access at the Red Deer OPS.

17. The Red Deer OPS has also helped me access other health and social supports. I do not trust the health care system because of my past experiences. But, I trust the Red Deer OPS, which I believe has my best interests at heart. The staff does not judge me for my condition; they see me in the best light and want me to live my best life. The staff has directed me to counselling services and other health care providers to address other aspects of my health. They have helped me secure income support services.

18. The Red Deer OPS has provided considerable stability in my life, and I have decreased the frequency and quantity of my substance use. I am much healthier and have gained weight. I am addressing my broader healthcare and social needs. This has led me to secure permanent, supportive housing, which has completely changed my life and I feel like I am on the path to turn around my life.

19. I am not in a position yet to stop my substance use completely. I still feel the urge to use, and I have not been successful on methadone or Suboxone, though those programs help. I cannot access the injectable opioid agonist treatment program in Alberta because it is not taking new members and there is no service offered in Red Deer. If I went to a recovery program, my withdrawal symptoms would be so strong I would leave immediately to use substances, and I would also lose my supportive housing because I cannot be absent for an extended period, including to attend rehabilitation. My housing is a major safety net for me and I do not want to lose it.

20. I heard about the proposed closure of the Red Deer OPS in October 2024, and I was shocked. I would be dead without the Red Deer OPS and the supervised consumption services it offers. I likely will die quickly after the Red Deer OPS closes, given that I still rely on street sourced opioids to self-medicate my severe opioid use disorder. I will likely acquire other diseases and infections through street sourced opioid use and be hospitalized and lose the social and economic supports that I have, including housing. I will descend back to the worst depths of my medical condition that I narrowly escaped. It is terrifying to imagine what my life will become once the Red Deer OPS closes. It will essentially be a death sentence for me and the many others who use the facility.

21. My lawyer informs me and I believe true that instead of the Red Deer OPS, the Respondents will have a team of health care professionals monitor the emergency shelter in Red Deer and nearby areas and intervene to resuscitate those people who are overdosing. Instead of supervising people using substances, and ensuring they have clean supplies, they will only intervene if we are at risk of dying. I find this troubling because many people will use substances in areas outside of the areas the health care team will monitor, and potentially at times when they are not present. There is also a risk that they may be too late to help people suffering from an overdose, or are using unsafely and may contract serious diseases or infections. The proposal seems be focused on addressing the harms associated with street sourced opioid use after they occur, rather than acting in a proactive manner to prevent any banns from occurring. I am concerned that this approach will result in many preventative deaths and other harms to substance users in Red Deer, and that it could lead to my own death. I have made so much progress with the help of the Red Deer OPS, and do not want to lose it all with its closure.

22. I have no assets and have no income, aside from government income support. I have no financial means to fund and sustain this litigation. But, I need to challenge this lawsuit because if I do not, I could die because of the Respondents' decision to close the Red Deer OPS.

Drug Data Decoded provides analysis on topics concerning the war on drugs using news sources, publicly available data sets and freedom of information submissions, from which the author draws reasonable opinions. The author is not a journalist.