Mother says Saskatchewan’s involuntary drug treatment bill would have helped her sons

REGINA — Saskatchewan’s government tabled a bill Friday to force treatment on those battling drug addictions, a plan a mother of two dead sons says would have helped them.

Angela McPhee says her sons, Kayden and Colton Richardson, struggled with substance use. Kayden, 24, died by suicide in 2017 and Colton, 34, died earlier this year outdoors on a stairwell after overdosing on methamphetamine.

McPhee told a government news conference she tried everything she could to help her children.

For Colton, she said she went to every service provider in Saskatoon asking for help. She urged the court to apprehend him under the Mental Health Services Act, but was told the law didn’t apply in his case.

“If I could take my child and kidnap him without any repercussions to me, I would have,” McPhee said. “He was so mentally damaged, he didn’t understand he was dying.”

The only other alternative was to force him into treatment, she said.

“My my son left journals. He was a beautiful writer. He wanted to live. He just didn’t know how to get there,” McPhee said.

Mental Health and Addictions Minister Lori Carr didn’t provide a timeline on when involuntary treatment spaces will be operational.

She said should the legislation pass, the province will speak with mental health and addictions experts on how to roll out the plan.

The number of involuntary beds will be in addition to the 500 the province is working on adding to the drug-treatment system, she added.

“We truly want these individuals to take voluntary treatment up first if that is a possibility,” Carr said.

“Right now we’re watching people struggle on the on the street, literally killing themselves, and we do nothing. This is going to help us do something for those individuals and get them some help.”

If passed, the legislation would allow law enforcement, medical professionals or family members to refer a person with addictions to a tribunal. The panel will decide if forced treatment is necessary and for how long. Decisions will hinge on whether the person is likely to cause harm to themselves or others.

Justice Minister Tim McLeod said should a person become healthier sooner than the tribunal’s mandated treatment time, the panel will reassess the situation and determine whether early release is allowed.

Those put into treatment can appeal the panel’s decisions through the Court of King’s Bench, he added.

McPhee said her son received treatment for only 10 days before he was seen escaping the facility.

“He just wasn’t able to get past that time from detoxing,” she said. “We need more.”

The Opposition NDP said Friday it supports involuntary treatment as a last resort.

Betty Nippi-Albright, the NDP’s mental health and addictions critic, told reporters the province needs to get more treatment beds operational.

“People are dying every single day this week,” she said. “There’s many people out there wanting to get into treatment, and there’s no spaces available today.”

The legislation came the same day the assembly ended its fall sitting.

Throughout the past two months, Premier Scott Moe’s government has contended with pressures in health care, questions over his response to summer wildfires, a growing deficit and trade issues with the United States and China.

The premier visited both countries to promote free trade amid various U.S. levies and China’s punishing tariffs on canola.

He told reporters Friday he’s supporting Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal government to find a solution.

“To remove the (United States-Canada-Mexico free trade agreement) would be a significant blow to the Canadian economy … it would also be a significant blow to the American economy,” he said.

On the province’s finances, his government recently approved an additional $1 billion in spending. It came after a mid-year financial report predicted the province’s deficit is to grow to $427 million.

“We’re in a very challenging economic time in Saskatchewan, across the nation … around the world,” he said. “We need to find our way through some of these trade challenges.”

With the summer wildfires, Moe’s government has been accused of being ill-prepared to fight a blaze that destroyed about half the northern community of Denare Beach.

He has declined to hold a public inquiry, something village officials and its residents have called for. Instead, the province has hired a third-party to do a report on what happened.

Moe said the report will include the voices of residents.

“They need to have input,” he said.

Saskatchewan’s auditor is investigating the province’s preparedness to fight the summer wildfires. Tara Clemett is also looking into last year’s purchase of new water bombers amid allegations the government vastly overpaid for them.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2025.

Jeremy Simes, The Canadian Press