CCSA’s focus on northern Canada started in 2005 with the development of a Web resource offering access to credible substance abuse information relevant to Canada’s territories. In 2006, with the hiring of a senior advisor on northern Canada, involvement with the North intensified, as indicated by the projects listed on the left. In 2007, the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), Government of the Northwest Territories, endorsed the National Framework for Action, which identifies “reaching out to Canada’s North” as one of its 13 priorities. This was followed by a CCSA Board visit to Yellowknife for the signing of a memorandum of agreement with DHSS.
Through its National Priority Advisor on First Nations, Inuit and Métis (FNIM) and Canada’s North, CCSA has reached out to territorial non-governmental organizations, Aboriginal leaders, Elders, and the private and public sectors, and has provided support and expertise for the development of tools and resources for healthy living identified as priorities by northern people. The Meeka Project is an example of the search for northern solutions to northern social and cultural problems.