“I have watched with concern reports regarding the province’s new quality standards for supervised consumption sites. It has been reported the clients accessing these sites will be required to produce identification before accessing the service. These reports are false. No person will be asked to produce identification as a condition of use.
“The government’s new regulations require supervised consumption site operators to ask new clients for their Personal Health Number upon their first visit. This is standard practice for health-care services when a new client is admitted. If the client cannot remember the number, the operator has a phone number to help the client retrieve it. If the client does not have a Personal Health Number, the supervised consumption services operator is required to offer assistance in getting one. No client will be refused services if they refuse to provide one.
“The Health Information Act forbids a person’s identity from being disclosed to unauthorized persons.
“The goal of these quality standards is to bring supervised consumption sites squarely within the health-care system. The Personal Health Number is the cornerstone of our health-care system and a necessary tool to assist people in accessing other health services. In the current environment of high overdose fatalities, we must do everything we can to assist in effectively connecting users of these sites to treatment, pharmacy, recovery and other health care, and they should expect nothing less of us.
“Service providers, media and government have an important role to play in ensuring that this matter is accurately represented to Albertans. We have been clear on the issues from the beginning that there is no “ID requirement” – that this is a measure to support people in accessing health services, and that nobody will be turned away should they refuse to provide their Personal Health Number.”