15 addiction treatment spaces to open in Lloydminster

According to the Saskatchewan Coroners Service, 484 people died of confirmed or suspected drug toxicity in 2023. (pexels)

The government of Saskatchewan is set to open 15 addiction treatment spaces at Thorpe Recovery Centre near Lloydminster.

On Tuesday, Saskatchewan’s minister for mental health and addictions Tim McLeod said the new spaces will help adults access inpatient addictions treatment and will be open to all Saskatchewan residents.

"The new spaces at Thorpe Recovery Centre are part of our promise to add 500 addictions treatment spaces across the province, which is a key pillar of Saskatchewan's new action plan for mental health and addictions," McLeod said in a news release.

This brings the total number of new treatment spaces to 183.

The ministry said it has requested supplier qualification for approximately 250 more treatment spaces across the province and anticipates several new spaces will open in the coming months.

The announcement came as the province reported its most drug toxicity deaths ever in 2023.

According to the Saskatchewan Coroners Service, 484 people died of confirmed or suspected drug toxicity in 2023.

The previous high was 407 deaths in 2021. In 2022, 367 people died of drug toxicity.

In October, the Saskatchewan government pledged nearly $90 million for a multi-year plan to address the province's dual crises of homelessness and addiction.

Over the next two years, more than $40 million will fund 155 new supportive housing spaces and 120 permanent emergency shelter spaces, according to a news release from the province issued last year in October.

The new emergency shelter spaces will be established in Saskatoon, Regina, Prince Albert, and "other communities based on need," the release said.

In Saskatoon, residents of the Sutherland neighbourhood are fighting to have a planned 30-bed shelter in a former city fire hall shut down.

—With files from Donovan Maess and Josh Lynn