Welcome to Canadian Landscape. In this section, you’ll learn about what’s happening across the country to inform, support and strengthen the field of substance abuse at a systems level. You’ll see that many jurisdictions are facing similar challenges. You’ll also see that efforts to share information and work together are already underway, resulting in a more integrated and cohesive approach to service planning and delivery.
For example, many provincial and territorial jurisdictions in Canada have integrated drug strategies or frameworks. These initiatives recognize that the issue of substance abuse is best addressed through an integrated effort, bringing together a diversity of partners from a variety of sectors, including health agencies, the police, the education system, housing, recreation organizations and faith groups.
Integrated drug strategies or frameworks also have specific implications for the substance abuse workforce. In some cases, these initiatives have specifically identified targets for increasing the substance abuse workforce; in others, the emphasis is on identifying and utilizing pathways that cut across sectors—such as substance abuse and mental health, or substance abuse and public health—for the purpose of creating and sustaining a more integrated approach to service delivery.
Various government and non-government organizations are making strides in addressing complex issues and are expressing interest in sharing their work and learning from the experiences of other jurisdictions. Canadian Landscape is a way to make that happen.
We hope you’ll visit Canadian Landscape often, learning more about what’s happening in your own jurisdiction as well as across the country.