Poundmaker’s Lodge and Treatment Centre’s announced on Sept 28 the closure of the Day program in the downtown Edmonton core due to the lack of ongoing provincial funding. The program provided culturally grounded addiction treatment and recovery support to urban Indigenous people, including parents unable to attend residential treatment.
Brad Cardinal, Executive Director with Poundmaker’s Lodge and Treatment Centre’s spoke with CFWE, saying the closure of the Day Program is unfortunate, as it provided urban Indigenous clients with access to culturally grounded treatment and support.
Brad Cardinal, Executive Director of Poundmaker’s Lodge and Treatment Centre’s speaking at the announcement of the Day Program closure. (Photo Credits – Daniel Barker-Tremblay)
Cardinal says Poundmaker’s Lodge reached out to several provincial ministries for funding before the closure, but received no support. As the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation approaches, he is urging the ministries to recognize the positive impact the Day program had on hundreds of clients in Edmonton.
Cardinal speaks on the cost of the day program that costed 53 dollars a day, the Day program previously received $600,000 in government support.
Former participant Anne Green described the value of that option: the program gave people a way to take a first step by committing to three weeks of support when full residential treatment was not possible.
In a statement, the Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction said the province continues to provide $6.8 million annually to Poundmaker’s Lodge. It added that a 2025 fire at the facility led to the temporary reallocation of day-program funds to assist clients who had been displaced.
According to the lodge, 143 people remain on the waitlist for the day program.
The province described the funding shift as an interim step until the residential bed-based program could resume operations, which occurred in March.
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