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Summer Webinar Series
June: Small Cities Initiative and Municipal Leaders Table
July: How Data Can Help Municipalities Respond
August: Effective Collaboration Between Government Levels
September: Community Policing and Healthcare Partnerships
Plus, more topics to be announced!
CCSA's Issues of Substance Conference
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Be Part of the Future in Halifax!
Immerse yourself with up to 1,000 expected attendees in three full days of learning at CCSA’s Issues of Substance. With over 120 presentations scheduled to take place, there are plenty of opportunities to share knowledge, collaborate and help shape the future of substance use health during this most crucial time. Don’t miss it! Join us November 17–19 at the Halifax Convention Centre.
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Finding community solutions to substance use crises
Our Small Cities Initiative started with the Timmins Summit, then grew to a Municipal Leaders Table and soon a Summer Webinar Series. It’s all leading up to a resource we’re calling the Playbook, launching this November at our Issues of Substance conference. It will hold the first municipally led, integrated standards for prevention, treatment, harm reduction, recovery and policing services, policies and strategies.
Past Events
Integrating Substance Use Health into Housing-First Approaches
The connection between housing insecurity and substance use health is well known. Supporting people’s needs through whole-of-health approaches increases the chances of their long-term well-being. We co-hosted a roundtable with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in May to determine how to integrate best practices of substance use healthcare with Housing-First principles.
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National Symposium on Measurement-Based Care
In May, we joined Homewood Research Institute and the Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research to host a pivotal event to build a national agenda for measurement-based care in the treatment of substance use and concurrent disorders. Together with participants and partners, we're shaping a stronger, evidence-driven future for mental health and substance use health care.
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Municipal Leaders Table
Mayors and city representatives from across Canada gathered in Lethbridge, Alberta, in April 2025, to start developing the playbook, a collection of approaches they can choose from to address the substance use crisis in small cities and towns.
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Timmins Summit
We co-hosted a special event with the City of Timmins to examine the impact of the substance use crisis on small-sized cities across Canada. In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the Timmins Summit brought together elected leaders, public health officials, drug policy experts, local service providers, resource industry leaders and people with lived and living experience.
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Bringing Our Small Cities Initiative to Europe
We were thrilled to be part of the Shaping the Future: Preparedness for a Changing Drug Landscape session in March 2025 at the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) event. It was cohosted by the European Union Drugs Agency and the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime. We shared our Small Cities Initiative and our upcoming Municipal Leaders Table with colleagues from the United Kingdom, Iceland, Nigeria, Norway and across the European Union
Past Webinars
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Monitoring and Responding to the Unregulated Drug Supply
In partnership with CATIE (Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange), CCSA presented the webinar: Monitoring and Responding to the Unregulated Drug Supply. As Canada continues to face a toxic drug crisis, this session explored the challenges of an unpredictable drug supply and how drug checking programs and community initiatives can support frontline responses.
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Guidance, Tools and Resources
CCSA produces research-based publications, tools, and resources to support evidence-based decision-making on substance use health issues. Select your area of interest from the categories below to learn more:
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Substances
CCSA produces a variety of substance use- and addiction-related publications for researchers, policy makers and health service providers. We provide guidance to decision makers through harnessing the power of research, collecting and organizing knowledge, and bringing together diverse perspectives.
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Health and Public Safety
CCSA conducts research, develops tools and resources, and produces targeted materials to support evidence-based decisions and public policy. Review our key resources on health and public safety in relation to substance use health and addiction issues.
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People and Communities
CCSA is dedicated to the health and well-being of individuals and communities, focusing on the impact of substance use across the lifespan, the perspectives of people with lived experience, and the roles of stigma, sex and gender, and educators in substance use health.
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CCSA News
and Updates
Visit this page for our latest news and publications.
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CCSA Events
Learn about our upcoming and past events!
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CCSA Publications
CCSA produces a variety of substance use- and addiction-related publications for researchers, policy makers and health service providers. Browse our publications!
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Canadian Data Trends
CCSA provides up-to-date statistics on substance use, trends, and consequences to support evidence-informed decisions and harm reduction. We synthesize national data from various sources to offer a comprehensive overview.
