Who is Marshall Smith?
What is ROSC and why is that important in Alberta Health Care Addiction Recovery?
Hi everyone,
We wrote this a while ago, to connect the dots on who Marshall Smith (former Chief of Staff for Danielle Smith) is and why he is so important in the Addiction Recovery Arm of Alberta Health. Carson MacPherson, who is the CEO of ROSC, which has been at the forefront of Addiction Recovery since at least 2022. He has set up a program to train personal support workers. You can’t get into a recovery program without one. That means you need to have the necessary funds to participate in the program. There are no official qualifications to become an addictions support worker. (some updated links at the bottom of this newsletter re: Marshall Smith in the news)
Where do you get the training? Recovery Training Institute of Alberta (RTIA)
https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/assets/about/ac/ahs-pac-amh-2022-09-17-minutes.pdf \ Minutes of the 2022 meeting to explain ROSC and Recovery Alberta.
Compassionate Care Act AB Government information Providing life-saving treatment for substance abuse and addiction | Alberta.ca
A key player was Dan Williams, Minister of Mental Health and Addiction - the first area to be spun off of AHS.
Alberta’s Mental Health and Addiction Ministry Business Plan 2023-2026
On May 1, 2019, Marshall Smith joined the Ministry of Health as Chief of Staff under Andre Tremblay, Assistant Deputy Minister of Health. This is when he began working on changing Alberta’s focus on Addiction.
Marshall Smith was Chief of Staff for Associate Minister of Health Andre Tremblay on May 1, 2019, and stayed in that position until September 25, 2022. At that point, he moved to be Chief of Staff to Premier Smith until he retired in October 2024. When Smith became Premier, she created a new Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction, and this was the first spin-off from AHS and Alberta Health.
Who is Marshall Smith:
A speaker intro to Marshall Smith
August 10, 2023
Marshall Smith's Recovery success becomes the focus of Alberta’s drug program
From drug addict to Alberta’s drug czar - Globe and Mail
Who is getting the contracts to build and operate the Alberta Recovery Centers?
Carson McPherson’s research is what the Alberta Recovery Program is based on.
A critique of Alberta’s drug recovery model
April 19, 2024
There has been an increase in fentanyl and opioid deaths in 2022.
May 25, 2024
From drug addict to Alberta’s drug czar - Globe and Mail
October 8, 2024
Marshall Smith to leave Premier’s office as Chief of Staff
What was next for Alberta? Who is replacing Smith? Who is replacing them?
(Rob Anderson was highlighted in the Jan. 25 - 31 newsletter)
Marshall Smith, Alberta Drug Czar, exit interview
October 9, 2024
Spending millions to split mental health, addiction treatment, and corrections health from Alberta Health Services and creating the 10,000-plus-employee Recovery Alberta agency was inspired by Marshall Smith’s ideas. (the first area to be split off from AHS)
October 10, 2024
A conversation about Alberta’s drug recovery program.
December 16, 2024
Janis Irwin’s post on Facebook re: Marshall Smith and the Vanity Coins
January 2, 2025
Opioid deaths are down, and there could be several reasons. An expert encourages using the Alberta Recovery Model and Safe Consumption Sites. Minister Williams disagrees and promotes the Recovery Program only.
January 24, 2025
Additionally, Alberta is investing $350 million to build 11 brand-new world-class Recovery Communities.
Sole Source Contract Information scroll to Mental Health and Addiction
Sole-source contracts disclosure table | Alberta.ca
February 14, 2025
'Outrageous and false': How those named in the AHS lawsuit are responding to the allegations
Currently:
Marshall Smith works for Rubicon Strategy Inc., which liaisons with Capitol Counsel. They are navigating cross-border trade and government relations. There is no evidence of Alberta using this company to lobby in Washington.
Some headlines from the latest updates:
Marshall Smith living in house rented from Sam Mraishe’s sister Fatima
Former chief of staff to Alberta Premier lived in home owned by Sam Mraiche’s sister - The Globe and MailMarshall Smith suing former AHS CEO for defamation





Agreed, that's why we need to keep spreading the news. Frank Sinatra - https://youtu.be/Zr-cauL052I?si=8KEKEwuy8RtrpxdX (I want to rewrite the lyrics for spreading the news) We need to have fun with this and laugh. The right want us angry then they can point fingers and make fun of us. "We didn't change, The UCP did!" They are doing things they didn't campaign on.
This is a really super resource for facts about recent political history regarding addiction and treatment models. Do you mind if I share this on other social media?