Government of Canada announces over $13 million to help address harms related to substance use in the Prairies, the Northwest Territories and Yukon  

To help support the response to the overdose crisis and address harms related to substance use and the toxic illegal drug supply, the Government of Canada has announced over $13 million in funding for 11 innovative community-led projects across the prairies, the Northwest Territories and Yukon.

March 2023

To help support the response to the overdose crisis and address harms related to substance use and the toxic illegal drug supply, the Government of Canada has announced over $13 million in funding for 11 innovative community-led projects across the prairies, the Northwest Territories and Yukon.

With this funding, these projects will help improve health outcomes for people who are at risk of experiencing substance-related harms and overdose by scaling up prevention, harm reduction and treatment efforts across the country.

Funding is provided through Health Canada's Substance Use and Addictions Program (SUAP), which supports evidence-informed and innovative initiatives across a range of interventions—prevention, harm reduction and treatment—involving a broad range of legal and illegal substances.

Alberta (total of $6,812,519)

South Asian Network
Covenant Health – Edmonton, AB
$957,069 over 25 months to expand a program that provides culturally appropriate pathways to care for people of South Asian descent living in Edmonton, Alberta experiencing mental health and substance use issues. Building on a successful South Asian Network pilot project, the Network will expand the focus from mental health issues alone to include substance use issues, therefore creating a better outreach to a stigma-sensitive population. The organization will also provide culturally appropriate support to members of the community that will bridge the gap between members of the community and the community at large when it comes to addiction and mental health support and treatment. Services will include bridging services, peer support services, and culturally appropriate support services, such as CBT, harm reduction education as well as relapse prevention.
Theme: Racially/Culturally marginalized
Funding envelope: B2022

The Alberta Harm Reduction Project
Alberta Community Council on HIV (ACCH) – Stony Plain, AB
$4,000,000 over 24 months to work with partner organizations to enhance and complement existing harm reduction services in 10 communities in Alberta dealing with a growing demand for harm reduction services. Those communities will include Calgary, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Hinton, Edson, Whitecourt, Jasper and Red Deer. The organization and its partners will provide services such as mobile outreach and referrals to health and social services, assisting people in accessing basic needs resources, accompanying people during appointments, supporting people struggling with barriers to certain services, and facilitating access to peer-based supports. This funding will also allow the organisation to take part in activities such as the distribution of harm reduction supplies and Naloxone kits and building awareness of harm reduction strategies.
Theme: Outreach services
Funding envelope: B2022

Rapid Access Addiction Medicine Clinic
Alexandra Community Health Centre (The) – Calgary, AB
$20,000, in addition to the $1,015,000 already received from SUAP, to increase the outreach for people who are experiencing barriers to accessing addiction medicine and wraparound psychosocial support as medicine. This additional funding will specifically enable the organization to increase the number of clients served overall as well as provide medication to new clients that do not have access to provincial coverage. It will also help the organization get the needed program material and supplies.
Theme: Outreach services
Funding envelope: additional funding

The Coordinated Care Campus Addiction Supports Project (CCCASP)
Northreach Society – Grande Prairie, AB
$1,835,450 over 26 months to provide opioid agonist treatment services and related supports for the residents of Grande Prairie's "Coordinated Care Campus" supportive housing and wraparound support centre. The intent of the campus is to provide place-based housing with additional supports to address resident's physical, mental and psychological health, as well as addressing addictions through a harm reduction and recovery focused lens. Residents who use other substances will also be supported by project staff to reduce substance-use related harms. Additional supports will include health services, group addiction support sessions, group crisis debriefing, and wellness activities for residents.
Theme: Community-based
Funding envelope: B2022

Manitoba (total of $2,009,776)

Sharing the Link: Cannabis and Mental Health
Schizophrenia Society of Canada – Steinbach, MB
$978,000 over 26 months to raise awareness and support uptake of existing tools and resources related to cannabis and youth mental health. Specific outputs of the project will include: an enhanced website, social media, certificate courses on cannabis and mental health geared toward youth ages 19-25, cannabis and mental health toolkit for facilitators, webinars for service provider and educator networks, and a community of practice.
Theme: Prevention
Funding envelope: B2022

Rapid Access to Addiction Medicine (RAAM) Mobile & Virtual Services Pilot 
Shared Health (Manitoba) – Winnipeg, MB
$897,416 over 18 months to improve patient access to addiction medicine by establishing a Rapid Access to Addictions Medicine (RAAM) walk-in clinic at the three locations in Manitoba (in Brandon with a mobile unit visiting Swan River, Virden, and Russel). The project will enhance local primary care capacity by providing effective follow-up support through the mobile-virtual RAAM teams based in Brandon.
Theme: Rapid-Access Clinics
Funding envelope: B2021

West Broadway Harm Reduction Outreach Project
West Broadway Development Corporation – Winnipeg, MB
$134,360 over 26 months to create a peer-informed harm reduction outreach service consisting of three main initiatives: 1) outreach to adults who use drugs and are experiencing homelessness /housing insecurity; 2) community organizing to build harm reduction capacity in Winnipeg's West Broadway neighbourhood; and 3) coordination of community responses to issues in the neighbourhood. The harm reduction team will work in collaboration with the West Broadway Bear Clan Patrol, Manitoba Harm Reduction Network and other front line service providers, expanding outreach and community harm reduction capacity in a way that is effective and culturally safe.
Theme: Outreach Services
Funding envelope: B2022

Northwest Territories (total of $2,162,051)

Health Outreach and Harm Reduction for Street-Involved Individuals
Government of the Northwest Territories Department of Health and Social Services – Yellowknife, NWT
$2,162,051 over 15 months to provide care to street-involved individuals and improve access to supports for vulnerable individuals with substance use disorders, by providing prevention, harm reduction, and treatment services; and expanding the capacity of services to reach people throughout the Northwest Territories. Through the funding, the organization will be able to expand its street nursing outreach, add peer support workers, and give access to art therapy program for regular participants.
Theme: NWT
Funding envelope: B2021

Saskatchewan (total of $696,441)

Indigenous Women's Intensive Outpatient Addiction support
Possibilities Recovery Center Inc. – Saskatoon, SK
$696,441 over 26 months to deliver a 16-week intensive outpatient addiction treatment program for Indigenous Women in Saskatoon. This will include women with substance use disorders that are completing prison sentences and beginning to reintegrate into society. In collaboration with the Elizabeth Fry Society of Saskatchewan, this program will develop individual case plans for the women to help prevent relapses in both criminal behaviour and/or substance use. The organization anticipates reaching approximately 120 women and will consist of in-person and virtual individual and group sessions including early recovery skills, relapse prevention skills, family education groups, mental wellness skills and social skills groups.
Theme: Indigenous
Funding envelope: B2022

Yukon (total of $2,110,349)

Selkirk First Nation Traditional Healing Program
Selkirk First Nation – Pelly Crossing, YK
$1,749,111 over 26 months to address the serious issues of addiction and mental health challenges resulting from intergenerational Indian Residential School trauma in the remote and isolated Selkirk First Nation Traditional Territory, Yukon. The project will: develop an "Each 1 Teach 1" program for people with lived and living experience to share their experiences, provide traditional knowledge and links to mental health and substance use counseling services, deliver healing camps on wellness and traditional healing practices, and deliver professional development to health and social services workers.
Theme: Indigenous
Funding envelope: B2022

Social Worker, system navigation and harm reduction
Government of Yukon – Whitehorse, YK
$361,238 over 26 months to hire a social worker who will deliver system navigation services, in an outreach setting, to people who use substances in Whitehorse, Yukon. Part of the social worker's mandate will be to help them identify their current health goals and provide them advice on how to access health and social services. Other provided services will include intensive case management, cognitive behaviours therapy (CBT) groups for people accessing opioid agonist treatment (OAT), information on available supports, assistance on how to access drug coverage and disability services, financial management, and other psychological supports to enhance wellness.
Theme: Outreach Services
Funding envelope: B2022