Mental Health Services Protection Amendment Act, 2025

Summary#

• This bill changes Alberta’s Mental Health Services Protection Act. It shifts many detailed rules out of the law and lets the Minister set standards and rules more flexibly.
• It narrows what counts as a “service” to only those listed in regulations (rules made by government). It also changes who needs a licence and creates a new option for a government registry of providers.

Key changes:

• Moves detailed requirements for residential addiction treatment out of the Act by repealing the Schedule; lets the Minister set and publish standards instead.
• Only service providers named in regulations will need a licence; others may need to register in a new government registry.
• Lets the government define and protect certain words (like specific titles) that facilities cannot use unless allowed.
• Expands what decisions can be appealed and sets a 15‑day deadline to file an appeal after notice.
• Allows the Minister to give written exemptions in special cases (medical need, research, or public interest).
• Updates regulation‑making powers to create classes of services and providers, and to prohibit certain services if needed.

What it means for you#

• Individuals and families

  • Facility names and marketing may change if certain words are restricted by regulation.
  • Government standards for mental health and addiction services will be posted online. What a program must do (like consent forms, policies, and reporting) will depend on these standards and regulations.
  • The government can publish information about service providers, such as locations, fees, services, employee qualifications, inspection results, and reported incidents.

• People in treatment or seeking help

  • The detailed rules that used to be in the law for residential addiction treatment (consent steps, service contracts, incident reporting, staff checks, training, and record‑keeping) are removed from the Act. New standards set by the Minister may replace them.
  • You may see different paperwork or policies once new standards and regulations are issued.

• Service providers (clinics, programs, facilities)

  • You will need a licence only if your type of service is named in regulations. Some providers may instead have to register in a government registry and follow set requirements.
  • You must follow any standards the Minister issues and publishes.
  • You cannot use certain protected terms in your facility name or description unless regulations allow it.
  • Appeals of licensing or penalty decisions must be filed within 15 days of written notice.

• Workers

  • Employer policies on training, incident reporting, and record‑keeping may change to align with new ministerial standards and regulations.

• Researchers and clinicians

  • The Minister can grant exemptions for specific individuals for medical, research, or public‑interest reasons, with conditions.

• Timing

  • These changes take effect on a future date set by the government (by Proclamation).

Expenses#

No publicly available information.

Proponents' View#

• Updates and streamlines the law so detailed operational rules can be changed faster through standards and regulations.
• Focuses licensing on higher‑risk services and uses a registry for others, which can be more efficient.
• Protects the public by restricting misleading facility names and titles.
• Improves clarity by publishing standards online and allowing more decisions to be appealed.
• Allows limited, case‑by‑case exemptions to meet urgent medical needs or support research.

Opponents' View#

• Removing detailed safeguards from the Act could weaken protections for people in residential addiction treatment (for example, consent steps, incident reporting, background checks, and training), depending on what standards later require.
• Defining “services” only by regulation may leave some programs outside the law if they are not listed.
• Shifts significant power to the Minister to set standards and grant exemptions, which some may see as less transparent or less accountable to the Legislature.
• Moving some providers from licensing to a registry could reduce oversight, depending on how the regulations are written.
• There could be gaps or confusion during the transition until new regulations and standards are in place.