Lead Department: Health Canada
Start Date: CDS started in 1987; CDS renewed 2003-2004*
End Date: Ongoing
Total Federal Funding Allocation: $752.2 M*

Description

Canada's Drug Strategy (CDS) was first introduced in 1987 to address substance use and abuse issues in Canada through coordinated activities by various federal departments, governments and non-governmental organizations. In 1992, following some initial successes in the areas of prevention and treatment, Phase II was launched with an emphasis on Driving While Impaired.   During Phase II of the CDS, changing government priorities resulted in less than half of the funding being applied to the Strategy making it difficult to fully address complex issues related to both supply and demand reduction. 

Under Canada's Drug Strategy Renewed (approved by Cabinet in May 2003), the CDS will continue to be a comprehensive inter - Departmental federal initiative designed to coordinate and enhance substance abuse programs, knowledge and partnerships in the areas of prevention, treatment, harm reduction and enforcement. For more information, please refer to Canada's Drug Strategy.

Shared Outcome(s)

Improved Leadership - Setting directions and creating environments that support local action through community-based initiatives integrally linked to national objectives and targets;

Enhanced knowledge generation and management - Providing strengthened capacity to improve evidence-based policy and decision making by promoting leading-edge research, statistical monitoring of drug trends and evaluation of program effectiveness;

Enhanced partnerships and interventions - Discouraging substance abuse, targeting illegal conduct that threatens the safety and security of Canadians, and assisting those at risk from the effects of drugs by supporting partnerships and programs that focus on prevention, harm reduction, treatment and enforcement activities;

Improved modernization of relevant legislation and drug policies - Ensuring that legal and policy approaches underpinning CDS are coherent with and support the Strategy, by reviewing legislation and regulations for responsiveness to current requirements.

Governance Structures

Health Canada (HC)

Health Canada is the federal lead for Canada's Drug Strategy. The Minister of Health is responsible for coordination across federal departments.   Health Canada also partners with provinces and territories to provide national leadership and coordination and manages programs that reduce and prevent harm associated with controlled substances and participates in various international fora in support of health-related supply and demand reduction activities.

An Assistant Deputy Minister Interdepartmental Steering Committee exists and is chaired by Health Canada.   Working groups focussing on Communications, Research and Surveillance, Evaluation and Risk Management and Emerging Issues have been established to support decision-making by the ADM Steering Committee and Health Canada provides secretariat to support these structures.   In addition, small coordination units will be implemented in core federal departments and Health Canada's regional offices.   

Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)

The Public Health Agency of Canada, through its Centre for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control (CIDPC) and its Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Team, is responsible for conducting and dissemination of research and surveillance information on public health indicators and illness related to substance use/abuse and injection drug use, as well as on the linkages between substance abuse and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada (PSEPC)

The Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada is responsible for: a) coordinating the Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Portfolio's drug control policies and initiatives to ensure that they are consistent with and complimentary to the broader goals and objectives of CDS; and b) providing strategic advice to the Minister in fulfillment of the Minister's policy leadership role in policing and corrections. The Department also participates in various international fora in support of law enforcement-related supply and demand reduction activities.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)

The RCMP offers a balanced approach addressing both supply and demand issues. They investigate illegal drug activities and organized crime groups.   They disrupt criminal activities and networks related to the supply of illicit drugs.    They also deliver a number of drug awareness and prevention programs targeted at youth, Aboriginal communities, drug endangered children, parents and the Canadian workplace. Additionally, they coordinate specialized training of police officers in Drug Recognition Expertise to detect drug impaired driving.

Correctional Services Canada (CSC)

CSC provides substance abuse treatment programs to federal offenders with substance abuse problems and controls the supply of illicit drugs in correctional facilities through various security measures.  

Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)

The CBSA contributes to reducing the supply of illicit drugs through the interception of controlled substances and illegal drugs at Canadian ports/borders of entry.

Department of Justice (DOJ)

The Federal Prosecution Service of the Department of Justice prosecutes drug cases.   The prosecution of drug cases comprises a significant part of the Prosecution's workload.   The Programs Branch of the Department of Justice in collaboration with the Office of Demand Reduction of Health Canada, administers funding and monitors the implementation and evaluation of drug treatment courts in Canada. Drug treatment courts are implemented as alternatives to traditional prosecution through special courts that integrate both criminal justice and drug treatment responses .

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (FAITC)

The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (FAITC) represents Canada, in cooperation and coordination with other interested federal partners, on the international aspects of Canada's Drug Strategy.   The Department manages contributions to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Organization of American States' Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD).  

Partners

Health Canada
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Correctional Services Canada
Department of Justice
Public Health Agency of Canada
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada
Canadian Border Services

Contact

Colleen Ryan
Manager, CDS Evaluation, Risk Management and Reporting
(613) 957-2867
colleen_ryan@hc-sc.gc.ca

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* CDS was initiated in 1987 and has undergone a number of reiterations in the past 17 years. CDS Renewed was approved in May of 2003. The financials presented reflect a start date of May 2003 and an end date of the 2004-2005 fiscal year. The funding allocation during this two year period is inclusive of both the enhanced funding received under CDS Renewed and a-base funding pertaining to activities undertaken in the area of demand and supply reduction.