Health minister says forced addictions treatment lacks evidence, feds won’t intervene

Minister of Health Marjorie Michel rises during question period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, June 2, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel says there’s no evidence that forcing people into addictions treatment works — but she won’t weigh in on whether provinces should pursue involuntary treatment.

“I will tell you that I think every single Canadian has the right to get treated,” she said.

“I will not tell you (that) to force them to be treated is a way to solve the problem. I don’t think for now we would have any kind of scientific evidence on this practice.”

Alberta has introduced sweeping legislation to allow family members, health care workers or police to apply to have someone ordered into treatment for addiction.

Under that legislation, people using substances who are considered to pose a risk to themselves or others could be forced into a secure treatment facility for up to three months.

In British Columbia, where the opioid crisis has been particularly deadly, the provincial government recently opened a 10-unit facility at a pretrial centre to treat people at the jail who have both serious brain injuries and addiction issues. The government is aiming to add more facilities at jails across the province.

B.C. officials said they are trying to provide help for people who are unable to ask for help, and prevent them from spending time in segregation as they wait for a bed to open up.

Ontario announced last month that it plans to study how it can introduce involuntary treatment to the correctional system and plans to hear from people with lived experience and experts. The Ontario government has said it’s looking to B.C. as a potential model.

The proposed changes have been opposed by advocates who say governments should focus instead on expanding access to voluntary treatment.

Michel said she won’t comment on the provinces’ plans for now.

“I will sit down and see results, because I think we need to work closely together, but mostly we need scientific evidence,” she said in an interview outside the House of Commons.

A 2023 review published in the Canadian Journal of Addiction found there was “a lack of high-quality evidence to support or refute involuntary treatment” for substance use disorder. The study concluded that more research is needed.

The Canadian Mental Health Association in British Columbia said existing evidence shows that forcing people into treatment actually increases the risk that they will die of drug poisoning after being released.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2025

Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press