Athabasca NDP MLA Leroy Laliberte is lending his voice to the growing concerns regarding the delivery of addictions care in Saskatchewan’s north. “I’ve heard from many residents in my constituency who are concerned with the Saskatchewan Party government’s plans for addictions care in our region,” Laliberte said. “They need to go back to the drawing board.” The plans Laliberte is referring to concern the Saskatchewan Health Authority’s (SHA) decision to contract private company Medavie Health Services West to provide at-home detox services in the northwest. Medavie Health Services West is a subsidiary of Medavie Health Services and part of Medavie, a national organization founded in Nova Scotia. According to reports, mayors from communities across the north met in Prince Albert recently to learn more about the program Medavie Health Services West is looking to bring to La Loche, Ile-a-la Crosse, Buffalo Narrows and Beauval. The medical detox program would be geared toward low-risk individuals who would receive benzodiazepines to treat alcohol or drug withdrawal in a home-based setting. Those patients would be monitored by advanced care paramedics hired by Medavie.

“There’s no question we need more investments in supports for people in our communities, but it makes no sense to have an outside company delivering care to northern people,” Laliberte noted. “I also don’t accept the concept of ‘virtual beds’ which has been offered by the Saskatchewan Party multiple times as evidence of their support for those in need. What we need are real beds and a program that is actually built to help people.” This was echoed by Ile-a-la Crosse mayor Buckley Belanger who, for many years, held Laliberte’s current position of Athabasca MLA. “I would characterize this as very confusing,” Belanger told Northern Pride. “The number one crisis in all of our communities – Meadow Lake included – really revolves around drugs. The impact is so harmful and it affects us all. Meadow Lake has drastically changed, but so has Ile-a-la Crosse. This is not specific to the Indigenous community, but why are they (province) simply tinkering with this at-home detox service when they could be doing something significant?” Belanger went on to say the province has a privatization agenda when it comes to health.

“They’re almost forcing SHA personnel to shop Medavie around,” he said. “And, Medavie is simply doing low-risk, at-home service. I’m sure hoping the government isn’t counting those people’s beds in their private homes as beds for service. It’s really adding insult to injury when you push your privatization agenda when dealing with a crisis by bringing in a small, tiny measure that will not make a difference.” Belanger also praised the medical staff at the health care facility in Ile-a-la Crosse. “The doctors and medical staff all do a wonderful job of working with people who have acute dependency on drugs,” he said. “They deal with every level of drug exposure, not just low-risk. They’re doing a good job, yet in trots this private company being accompanied by SHA saying they will deal with the low-risk people from a distance. That’s not much of a solution and they shouldn’t be, in this time of crisis, pushing their privatization agenda onto our health care system. We need real beds and real support.” Meanwhile, Laliberte said he remains supportive of northern leadership, who, he said, understand the challenges and the solutions to what is being faced locally. “There are many northerners who have brought forward wonderful initiatives of how to address addictions and mental health in our communities that have not been supported by the Saskatchewan Party,” he said. “The Saskatchewan Party government should be partnering with local communities to develop plans to expand addictions treatment and open real beds in the north.”