SOUND OFF: An open letter to the new Conservative provincial government

ASK Wellness Society has long advocated for a balanced, four-pillar approach to addressing the interconnected challenges of housing affordability, substance use, and community safety. Prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery, and enforcement each play an important role in an effective response.

We recognize that enforcement and accountability are essential to maintaining public safety. At the same time, harm reduction services must be connected to pathways into housing, treatment, and recovery, with opportunities for meaningful employment supporting long-term stability. In particular, with over 15,000 supportive housing units operating across the province, these sites provide an opportunity to link current harm reduction approaches to treatment and recovery services that are so desperately needed. Supportive housing can be ground zero for tackling our ongoing addiction crisis if we create a culture and model of housing that promotes recovery in these settings.

We believe each of the four pillars are an essential, complementary component of a comprehensive response to our current crisis of homelessness, addictions, and public safety. These efforts are most effective when government, law enforcement, health authorities, municipalities, and community-based organizations work together. Effective responses also require meaningful engagement with local businesses and business improvement associations, whose perspectives are essential to developing practical, community-wide solutions.

We welcome the opportunity to host you, relevant cabinet ministers, and local MLAs for a tour of our facilities and programs across the Interior. This visit would allow your government to learn about the services operating in our communities while also providing a chance to strengthen coordination, address service gaps, and support more effective outcomes.

ASK Wellness Society is committed to being a constructive partner in advancing practical, evidence-informed solutions that strengthen community safety, improve housing stability, and expand pathways to treatment, recovery, and employment. We look forward to meeting with your government and highlighting where our experience and services can contribute to shared provincial priorities.

Sincerely,

Bob Hughes, Executive Office

by Bob Hughes, ASK Wellness Society CEO

SOUND OFF: An open letter to the new Conservative provincial government

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