Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction offering training to help employers
The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) is launching a new series of in‑person workshops aimed at helping employers better recognize and respond to substance use in the workplace. The pilot program, Managing Substance Use and the Workplace, will run over three two‑day sessions: one in Toronto in January, followed by two in Ottawa in February and March.
The workshops are geared toward managers, human resources professionals, occupational health and safety personnel, union representatives and others in leadership roles across both safety‑sensitive and non‑safety‑sensitive sectors. CCSA describes the pilot as a way to help “workplace leaders build better, more supportive environments through practical strategies, improved approaches and proactive education” on substance use.
Helping leaders respond to a spectrum of use
Substance use at work remains a relatively under‑examined issue, according to Shawna Meister, associate director of innovation and evidence in practice at CCSA. She noted serious attention to workplace impacts has only emerged in recent years. “Only in the last few years, particularly since the legalization of cannabis, have we really seen a kind of a boom of interest in what substance use looks like when it comes to the workplace,” she said.
Meister said CCSA’s national research indicates there is “some level of substance use usually occurring in organizations across the board,” though prevalence and visibility differ widely between sectors. Some employers see cases frequently, while others may be less aware of problems depending on how use manifests in their operations.
The workshops are structured to move beyond a narrow focus on any one substance, such as opioids, and instead address the full spectrum of use, from occasional, legitimate medical use to substance use disorders. “Our goal isn’t really to focus on individual substances,” Meister explained. “We find workplaces tend to fixate on very narrow kind of areas… when maybe their broader workplace might be experiencing the whole range of use.”
CCSA positions the program as practical training rather than treatment. Meister says employers are not being asked to diagnose or manage clinical care. “It’s not really up to the employer to do that kind of diagnosing, that treatment,” she said. “It’s up to them to just say okay, let’s find a way to help you get onto the supports and the resources you need.”
Culture, trust and policy in practice
Participants will be guided through identifying risk factors and barriers in their own organizations that may contribute to or exacerbate substance use, as well as learning how to observe and respond appropriately to potential cases. The curriculum includes examining how workplace policies align with everyday practice, with time built in to evaluate existing policies for gaps and areas of improvement.
Workplace culture emerged as a key concern in CCSA’s research. Meister said many organizations underestimate how everyday norms and expectations can undermine formal rules. “You might have a really good policy, but if your culture doesn’t align with it, the employee is going to disregard it,” she said. “They’re going to say it doesn’t apply to me because look at my boss. We’re doing this. We’re doing that.”
Trust is another central theme. Meister noted substance use is “highly stigmatized,” particularly when it is connected to a medical condition, and that employees are unlikely to seek help or disclose concerns if they do not feel psychologically safe doing so. The workshops will highlight strategies to build trust, including approaches to accommodation and return‑to‑work planning.
CCSA frames the initiative against a broader economic backdrop. The organization cites national data showing that lost productivity due to substance use cost the Canadian economy $22.4 billion in 2020 alone. In an era of political and economic uncertainty, the Centre argues, some workers are more likely to turn to substances to cope, raising risks for safety, morale and overall well‑being.
For Meister, an important goal of the workshops is to give employers insight into what has and has not worked elsewhere. She said CCSA will share examples drawn from people with lived experience and from organizations that have developed stronger, more supportive practices. “It could be something very simple, a simple fix,” she said. “We’re hoping to bring those types of insights to employers.”
