"MRS. MIROSH: Mr. Speaker, many of our young people from
Calgary are currently being treated by the program Kids of the Canadian West, a drug treatment centre in various areas
throughout the United States. There have been some controversial views reported regarding these programs in the United
States. Parents in my constituency of Calgary-
Glenmore have
expressed gratitude and, indeed, support for the government's initiative in helping their young people who are addicted to drugs. These same parents have expressed a concern regarding the cost and the length of the programs. Could the chairman of AADAC please give the Assembly a follow-
up as to the
establishment of the program that he announced in the city of Calgary a year or so ago and if that program will be continuing in Calgary?
MR. NELSON: Mr. Speaker, the U. S. program is operating
presently in New Jersey and in Utah. Those are the only two
operations they have. With the recommendation of AADAC the
government provided some matching moneys to the Kids of the Canadian West in Calgary to develop a program similar to the lines that were developed in the United States. However, I
might indicate that with the controversy that has developed in Calgary, prior to making a recommendation to the government
for matching funds to assist the development of this very needed program to assist those young people who are somewhat out of control and yet need the type of program that AADAC is not
providing, we believe we have put in place the checks and
balances that will encourage and offer a program in Alberta that meets with the laws of this land and also the integrity of the people that will utilize this program. Additionally, Mr. Speaker, the society that is running this program are people of integrity in the city of Calgary, and I'm sure they would not want their personal integrity put at risk by running a program that would not be in keeping with the well-
being of Albertans.
MRS. MIROSH: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My supplementary
is to the Minister of Education. Many of these young people
who enter the program are only 12 years old. Could the
Minister of Education indicate to the Legislative Assembly what would happen to these children's educational program? What
does the department provide to these young people either during or after the program?
MR. DINNING: Mr. Speaker, the chairman of AADAC has
quite properly and quite well outlined the problem that these young people face. These are young people, young men and
women, some in their early teens, some as young as the hon.
member has suggested, who are compulsively addicted to drugs. They are sick; they suffer from a serious illness. The School Act makes provision for children that suffer from an illness. It says in the Act that
a student is excused from attending school on a day on which the school is open if
( a) the student is unable to attend by reason of sickness or other unavoidable cause.
The same is true that the Act provides that the student is
excused if the parent shows sufficient cause to the board why the student should be excused, and the board then excuses the
student for a prescribed length of time.
Mr. Speaker, these kids, if they are in school today, arc failing miserably. More often than not, they are not in school; they arc on the streets, and they are suffering from their sickness. So we
158 Alberta Hansard March 20, 1990
recognize as a government that these are young people who are caught in drastic circumstances that require drastic action. We have supported that, supported the Kids of the Canadian West program, and that program will operate within the laws and rules of this province. I'm very proud of the leadership that our
government and, in particular, our Premier have taken in this drive, this fight against drugs and helping kids who've got this serious problem to get off being hooked on drugs."
http://isys.assembly.ab.ca:8080/isysquery/irl1940/5/docHere is a former and future staffer on the AARC operating within the laws and rules of this province:
Ben Goresky wrote
at 9:07pm on October 11th, 2007
"If you want to argue about the legality of AARC and what it does, I will agree with you that the laws in this province definitely don't cater to this kind of facility"
Ben Goresky wrote
at 9:12pm on October 11th, 2007
"It is an ambiguous area of the law for sure (there are laws that say AARC is legal, and others that say it isn't. nothing is clear)."
The laws are clear. It is illegal to allow unlicensed amateurs to hold people against their will.
