Events
Our events section profiles events hosted by CCSA as well as events hosted by our partners.
Coming Soon
Summer Webinar Series Recordings
Recordings coming soon for:
Small Cities Initiative and Municipal Leaders Table
How Data Can Help Municipalities
Collaborating Effectively with Government
Community Policing and Healthcare Partnerships
The Drug Crisis Part 1: How Did We Get Here?
The Drug Crisis Part 2: Where Do We Go Now?
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.
Coming Soon
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Prevent, Recognize, Respond, Support: Managing Substance Use in the Workplace Workshop
Gain the tools and strategies you need to prevent, reduce, and respond to substance use and workplace challenges, and create healthier, more supportive work environments.
With real-world case studies and role-playing exercises bringing the learning to life, you’ll practice difficult conversations and effective responses. You’ll also review and strengthen workplace policies, learn how to support safe return-to-work plans, and build a work culture where safety, productivity, and well-being go hand in hand.
Limited space available. Registration opens after Labour Day.
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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.
Partner Event
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Bottom Line 2025: Building Healthy Workplace Cultures
When: October 27 – 28, 2025
Where: The Westin Bayshore, Vancouver (1601 Bayshore Drive)
Join us for two days of in-person inspiration, collaboration and learning!
Bottom Line 2025 is about advancing psychological health and safety in the workplace by building a sense of community. Together we’ll reveal the power of connection and compassion in creating workplaces that protect and support mental health for all.
Partner Event
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Webinar series: Alcohol policy in Canadian municipalities
Are you interested in how municipalities, local governments and communities can promote community wellbeing and reduce alcohol-caused costs, risks, liability and harms? Join our upcoming Fall-Winter webinar series to:
- Learn about the legal framework for alcohol policies, research evidence, guidance and resources for the diverse municipal contexts across Canada.
- Connect with people across Canada who share an interest in alcohol policy at municipal, local government and/or community levels.
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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 six categories below:
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Substances
Delve into key resources on commonly used substances, such as alcohol, cannabis, opioids, stimulants and psychedelics. Learn about their effects, usage patterns, associated health and social consequences, and harm reduction considerations
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Personal and Societal Impacts
Get insights on the personal and societal impacts of substance use and addiction , including gambling and impaired driving, and their effects on health, safety, and social well-being. Learn about effective prevention and harm-reduction strategies in various sectors.
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Communities
Communities share common interests, values or goals, and interact with one another to build relationships and help networks. These materials support more inclusive, equitable, and community-informed responses to substance use and addiction. Dive into resources highlighting people with lived and living experience, stigma, sex- and gender-based analysis, Indigenous Peoples, and housing.
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Treatment and Prevention
Explore medical, psychological, and social approaches aimed at helping individuals avoid or recover from substance use disorders. Get the facts on public health topics and learn about collaborative efforts to reduce stigma and promote more equitable, inclusive responses to substance use.
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Youth
Learn about factors influencing substance use in young people, including childhood trauma and brain development, and get tools to support adult allies in leading meaningful, evidence-informed conversations with youth. Content promotes early prevention, harm reduction and supportive environments for youth up to age 25.
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Substance Use and the Workplace
Substance use has a significant impact on the workplace, potentially affecting safety, productivity and employee well-being. Explore research on substance use in various industries. Resources support workplace leaders in building more supportive, stigma-free environments through practical strategies, improved approaches and initiative-taking education.
