Canadian Pain Task Force and External Advisory Panel Meeting: December 1, 2021

Canadian Pain Task Force and External Advisory Panel Meeting: December 1, 2021, 11:30-13:00 EST

Via videoconference

Meeting Summary

Objectives

• Closing out the mandate of the Canadian Pain Task Force

Participants

Task Force: Fiona Campbell, Maria Hudspith, Manon Choinière, Jacques Laliberté, Michael Sangster, Linda Wilhelm, Jaris Swidrovich (as observer)

Regrets: Hani El-Gabalawy

External Advisory Panel: Norm Buckley, Christine Chambers, Chloe Crosschild, Gilles Lavigne, David Lussier, Justina Marianayagam, Laura Murphy, Steven Passmore, Dean Penney, John Pereira, Patricia Poulin, Kathleen Reid, Colleen Varcoe, Gerald Zamponi

Secretariat: Jacqueline Oddi, Sarah Batten, Olanna Barnett, Suzete Dos Santos, Baies Haqani, Jean-Francois Leroux, Fiona Morrow, Lindsey Yessick

Health Canada:
Shannon Nix (Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch)
Jennifer Novak (Executive Director, Opioid Response Team)
Andrew Taylor (Strategic Policy Branch)

Welcome

• The co-chairs welcomed everyone and provided an overview of the meeting objectives and agenda.
• The Secretariat also inquired about changes to Task Force and External Advisory Panel (EAP) member affiliations and interests, with no significant updates reported.

Health Canada Updates

• New members of the Secretariat were introduced: Jacqueline Oddi, Senior Manager and Jean-François Leroux, Manager of Pain Policy.
• Shannon Nix, Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, provided remarks thanking the current and previous Task Force and the EAP members for their leadership, expertise, and dedication to the issue of chronic pain. She highlighted that the members had successfully navigated so much uncertainty (two elections, and a global pandemic), and an accelerated mandate. She indicated that the reports provided by the Task Force have led to conversations within many groups across the Department. She also indicated that since the release of the proposed Task Force Action Plan, Health Canada has been exploring ways use federal levers to support pain-related priorities, continue to act as a convener to share best practices in chronic pain management and prevention, and enhance surveillance and monitor progress.
• Jennifer Novak, Executive Director of the Opioid Response Team, expressed gratitude to members for delivering the impressive work and accomplishments. She indicated that while the Canadian Pain Task Force's mandate may have come to an end, it also marks the beginning of a new chapter with the implementation of their recommendations.

Secretariat Updates

• The Secretariat indicated that Jean-Francois Leroux, Patricia Poulin, and Manon Choinière participated in a panel discussion on the intersection between mental health, substance use, and pain at the Issues of Substances Conference organized by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addictions. The session was well attended and generated a particular interests in tools available to the medical community to better assess chronic pain.
• The Secretariat provided a summary of the social media metrics for National Pain Awareness Week (NPAW). The Deputy Minister and Associate Deputy Minister included a message about NPAW to Health Canada staff and an NPAW email was sent to some chronic pain stakeholders.
• The Secretariat informed the members that there will be updates made to the Government of Canada chronic pain landing page.
• The Secretariat hopes that Task Force and EAP members will be open to continue to engage on future federal initiatives and projects that will help move the issue of chronic pain forward.
• The Secretariat thanked members who provided feedback and shared their experiences as part of the evaluation process for the Task Force and EAP activities. It provided a summary of best practices and areas for improvements identified throughout this process, which the Secretariat intends to share within Health Canada to inform the establishment and administration of future advisory bodies.

Roundtable and Open Discussion

• Task Force and EAP members expressed gratitude for the privilege to take part in the Canadian Pain Task Force. Members also thanked the Secretariat for the support they provided and the Co-Chairs for their leadership.
• An update on the success of the PainBC media activity during NPAW was provided.
• A majority of Task Force and EAP members indicated having an interest in continuing to collaborate with Health Canada on the implementation of the Task Force's recommendations. Many highlighted a need to establish an advisory body as a way to formalize this collaboration and maintain momentum generated by the work of the Canadian Pain Task Force.

Closing Remarks

The Co-Chairs thanked everyone for their immense efforts in participating in the Task Force and reminded everyone that progress on recommendations is not only a task for Health Canada but for stakeholders as well.