Prominent Canadian political commentator Aaron Gunn held a premiere for his documentary Canada Is Dying about the drug crisis in the country at the Canyon Meadows Cinemas in Calgary. .“Elections have consequences,” said Gunn at a Wednesday event. .“There are severe consequences based on how you vote.” .Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said on Monday she would bring in a bill allowing people to make treatment orders to judges for addicts if she is re-elected. .Smith said the legislation would balance the rights of the public with responsibility to help people in distress..“This is about saving lives and keeping our communities safe,” she said. .Canada Is Dying will be released on streaming platforms for the public on Monday. .The documentary covers Office of the Premier of Alberta chief of staff Marshall Smith, who used to be a a former drug addict. Smith lost his career to drug use and vanished into Vancouver's streets for four-and-a-half years. .He called this time a dark moment in his life, but he was able to recover. As part of his role as chief of staff and his background, he has spearheaded Alberta's drug response strategy. .The documentary examines the Canadian government supporting British Columbia in decriminalizing drugs. Mental Health and Addictions Minister Carolyn Bennett said decriminalizing drugs would "reduce the stigma, the fear and shame that keep people who use drugs silent about their use." .Smith responds to that by saying addicts do not care about shame and stigma. He said the shame and stigma come with behaviours. .He acknowledged society has never had more success than when it comes to tobacco addiction. Society takes a strong approach by demanding people quit, telling them help is available, and making it free. .When it comes to decriminalization and destigmatization, Gunn said it is the beginning. The objective is to bring in safe supply. .Health Canada defines safe supply as prescribing medications as a safer alternative to the toxic, illegal drug supply. It is intended to prevent overdoses and save lives. .Canada Is Dying has an interview with an anonymous pharmacist who says certain pharmacies on the Downtown Eastside in Vancouver provide monetary incentives with safe supply. These incentives keep people coming to them. .Since safe supply was introduced, the documentary said it has contributed to an increase in overdose deaths, more fentanyl use, and a decrease in their prices. .The pharmacist said she sees patients every day who are not taking their safe supply right. These patients are injecting them, taking them all at once, or selling them. .The documentary covers the Alberta model, which focuses on treatment for addicts. .Smith said the foundational belief in the Alberta model is governments’ first duty is to help people restore their self-agency. He added it is about eliminating access to barriers for care, examining every step in the system, and optimizing them. .The model borrows parts from jurisdictions around the world such as Portugal, Switzerland, and Massachusetts with Alberta ingenuity. While drug advocates in Canada love to cite Portugal decriminalizing drugs, Gunn said they "often ignore the more nuanced measures Portugal has taken to combat its addictions crisis." .He met with Stanford University psychiatry and behavioural sciences professor Keith Humphreys and had him explain about why it has been successful. Humphreys said it succeeded because of dissuasion commissions. .Police can take people to these commissions and pressure them into treatment. While people are not thrown in jail, they are told what they are doing is wrong and should change. .As part of Alberta’s goal to extend treatment to those who require it, the government has begun construction on 11 large recovery communities. The documentary sees Gunn and Smith tour the first such facility in Red Deer. .People can come into these facilities and stay for up to one year. They offer individualized care with full medical services. .“Addiction is an illness of loneliness, despair, and isolation,” said Smith. .“And so the antidote to that is building facilities like this where people can come together, where they’re not lonely.” .Canada Is Dying concludes with Gunn encountering a few fans in Vancouver, who tell him they loved his documentary Vancouver Is Dying. One of the fans confesses to being a former addict. .“Without recovery, it’s a field day out there,” said the fan. .Gunn unveiled the third season of his YouTube series Politics Explained in October, with the first episode drawing about 500,000 views within days. .READ MORE: Gunn launches next season of YouTube series.“When looking around the media landscape in Canada, for the most part, this kind of long-form investigative journalism just doesn’t exist,” said Gunn. .The first episode is called Vancouver Is Dying. Vancouver Is Dying examines how violent crime, homelessness, and drug addiction are destroying the city.
