“Our primary goal is to support harm reduction and wellness and community members who have been regularly excluded from the decisions that affect their lives and those of their brothers and sisters and be supported in regaining their rightful place in this community leading active and contributing roles, including leadership.”
Roger Augustine, retired Assembly of First Nation Regional Chief for New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island and founder of Gitpo Spirit Lodge
New, Indigenous-Led Research Project Receives Health Canada Funding for Harm Reduction Program For Individuals Living With Opioid Use Disorder
A pilot project led by Gitpo Spirit Lodge on Natoaganeg (Eel Ground) First Nation has received Health Canada funding to explore novel treatment options for individuals living with opioid use disorder.
The Gitpo Spirit Lodge Harm Reduction Pilot Program Incorporating Cannabinoid-based Medicine Pilot Program will include a diverse team of specialists to evaluate the use of cannabinoid products among individuals currently receiving Opioid Agonist Therapy (OAT) such as: methadone, buprenorphine/naloxone and buprenorphine).
Roger Augustine, retired Assembly of First Nation Regional Chief for New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island and founder of Gitpo Spirit Lodge, spent his forty-six-year, career developing and implementing harm reduction and wellness programs for members in his community of Natoaganeg (Eel Ground) First Nation and other First Nation communities. This Pilot Program advances both his journey and work in First Nations across the country.
“Our primary goal”, he stated, “is to support harm reduction and wellness and community members who have been regularly excluded from the decisions that affect their lives and those of their brothers and sisters and be supported in regaining their rightful place in this community leading active and contributing roles, including leadership.”
Denise and Brent Hannay, founders of E.C.O. Canadian Organic, a local, Health Canada licensed producer initiated a meeting with Chief Roger Augustine in October 2020 to present their pilot project and vision of medically prescribed cannabinoids as replacement therapy for individuals living with opioid use disorder which became the foundation of our project. “E.C.O. is honored to have the opportunity to work with Gitpo Spirit Lodge and First Nations with the strategic partners to aid in the reduction of opioid dependency.” stated Denise Hannay, CEO and President.
The Pilot Program has received $1,193,514 through Health Canada’s Substance Use and Addictions Program (SUAP), which provides grants and contributions funding to respond to drug and substance use issues. SUAP provides funding for a wide range of innovative and evidence-informed projects addressing problematic substance use, prevention, harm reduction, and treatment initiatives across the country.
“Indigenous Peoples carry a disproportionate burden of the harms related to the toxic drug and overdose crisis, making it imperative that we invest in community-led projects that can connect people with the culturally sensitive and trauma informed supports they need,” said the Honourable Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health.“ Today’s funding will directly support Indigenous people and allow Gitpo Spirit Lodge to make a significant difference in helping those who are struggling with substance use.”
Gitpo Spirit Lodge is an Indigenous wellness center with an overarching goal of meaningfully engaging with tradition in offering harm reduction and wellness programing to ensure that community members, and their communities, can thrive by regaining a sense of self and place.
Gitpo Spirit Lodge will work with Natoaganeg (Eel Ground) First Nation and Dr. Shelley Turner, a proud member of the Pimicikamak First Nation in Cross Lake, Manitoba, who will provide consultation for cannabinoid-based medicine programming for participants and will lead the medical clinical research team through an ownership, control, access and possession (OCAP) lens.
The community of Natoaganeg First Nation will be a key partner in this patient-oriented project, and will be involved in its development, design, and implementation.
Chief George Ginnish of Natoaganeg (Eel Ground) First Nation stated “We know that there are members in our community who have experienced, or continue to experience, trauma and who are trying to take control of their lives and their futures “This project provides us with an innovative opportunity to help our members who are struggling, and to reduce the harm related to pharmaceutical treatment for opioid addiction challenging our members, our families, and our communities.”
The University of New Brunswick (UNB) will provide non-medical research support through the collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative individual and community data focusing on the impact of the cannabinoid treatment option. UNB will ensure that this collection and use of data respects participants, their communities, and the principles of ownership, control, access and possession (OCAP). UNB’s research contribution will be led by Dr. Rob Moir, associate professor of business and director of the Urban and Community Studies Institute, and by the New Brunswick Institute for Data, Research and Training (NB-IRDT).
The proprietary cannabinoid products will be provided by E.C.O. a local, Health Canada licensed producer that has a focus on supporting First Nation communities by promoting wellness and harm reduction and developing health and wellness services.
Roger Augustine concluded, “I’m very proud of this Indigenous led, strategic, multi-partnered, research- backed, wellness and harm reduction project. I want to express my gratitude to Denise and Brent Hannay for their vision and support on this very important stage of my journey. ”
The initial stages of the project will run over a two-year period, with development currently underway.
Overview
Harm Reduction Program for Individuals Living with Opioid Use Disorder
The Harm Reduction Program is a collaborative endeavor led by Gitpo Spirit Lodge and supported by a group of Strategic Partners who want to offer an option in the treatment spectrum for individuals who are currently receiving Opioid Agonist Therapy (OAT) such as methadone, buprenorphine/naloxone, and buprenorphine.
Roger Augustine, retired Assembly of First Nation Regional Chief for New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island and founder of Gitpo Spirit Lodge, spent his forty-six-year, career developing and implementing harm reduction and wellness programs for members in his community of Natoaganeg (Eel Ground) First Nation and other First Nation communities. This Pilot Program advances both his journey and work in First Nations across the country.
Denise and Brent Hannay, founders of Eco Canadian Organic Inc. (‘E.C.O.’), a local, Health Canada licensed producer initiated a meeting with then Assembly of First Nations Regional Chief for New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island Chief Roger Augustine in October 2020 to present their pilot project and vision of medically prescribed cannabinoids as replacement therapy for individuals living with opioid use disorder which became the foundation of the Gitpo Spirit Lodge Pilot Program.
Gitpo Spirit Lodge’s strategic partners with E.C.O. include: Natoaganeg First Nation; Dr. Shelley Turner; and the University of New Brunswick. The Pilot Program’s core will include a team of health care professionals, behavioural specialist, prescribing physicians, and supportive wrap-around health care providers, under the leadership care and guidance of Dr. Shelley Turner.
Dr. Turner, a proud member of the Pimicikamack first Nation in Cross Lake, Manitoba will provide consultation for cannabinoid-based medicine programming for participants and will lead medical clinical research through an ownership, control, access, and possession (OCAP) lens.
The goal for these Partners is a team approach with the community as the Key Partner. The design and implementation of this project, including the metrics used for evaluation, will be critical and relevant to the participants and the community at large.
The purpose of the Harm Reduction Program is to provide an alternative treatment that will evaluate the efficacy of medically prescribed organic cannabinoids as an alternative treatment to the current opioid agonists treatment and to enhance and support individuals as they taper off these medications.
The Harm Reduction Program’s main objective is to create an environment towards greater health and wellness outcomes for First Nations people living with addictions.
Opioid Agonist Therapy (OAT) reduction is an area of growing interest amongst healthcare professionals and patients in Canada, specifically in First Nation communities, such as Natoaganeg First Nation.
The Pilot Program will be under the under the community leadership and administration of Gitpo Spirit Lodge, which manages an Aboriginal wellness and healing centre on Natoaganeg First Nation located in Eel Ground, NB. The Spirit Lodge has a developed, a model holistic wellness center offering traditional learning including, but not limited to; culture, education, and training for career in leadership positions, serving as wrap around programs supporting the Harm Reduction Program.
The mission of the Harm Reduction Program is to study, document, and to clinically evaluate how medically prescribed cannabinoids could be an alternative treatment for methadone and suboxone (the current opioid agonists treatment) and to enhance and support individuals as they taper off these medications.
The Harm Reduction Program will record its findings through science base data and offer an understanding of how medical cannabinoids can play an important role in reducing the use of current opioid agonists treatment.
The Program will also look at the quality of life for individuals who currently receive medically prescribed opioid treatment. The impacts of this Harm Reduction Program will be evaluated at the individual and community level and will be measured both quantitatively and qualitatively.
A team of researchers from the University of New Brunswick, under chief researcher Dr. Rob Moir, associate professor of business and director of the Urban &Community Studies Institute will design, develop, and assess the rigor, the non-medical health and wellness of this innovative cannabinoid alternative treatment regime. Guided by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and peer -reviewed research, researchers will seek to understand how the medical treatment affects the general health and wellness of both individuals in the program and upon the larger community. UNB’s research will respect the principles of ownership, control, access, and possession (OCAP) and be informed by the principles of the United Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
Across baseline and treatment phases of the study – the researchers will collect data at the individual and community levels). UNB’s research contribution will be led supported by the New Brunswick Institute for Data, Research and Training (NB-IRDT).
At the community level, the impact of prescribed cannabis will be evaluated with community leaders’ perceptions of alternative treatment options for those in their communities impacted by opioid addiction and current western medical approaches (e.g., methadone and suboxone). This data will be collected via narrative interviews before and after the community is presented with the individual data as described above.
Each participant (sample size 30) in the Program will meet with a member of our medical team (i.e., a physician, a registered clinical nurse, and/or a licensed practical nurse) for an intake interview and assessment. The medical team will collect narrative information through open and closed- ended medical questionnaires. Then, as the medical team prescribes, an individualized personal care plan will be created. Care plans will include information on medical cannabinoid dosing for each participant.
These personalized care plans are built upon harm reduction principles. Our focus is to help improve the quality of life of patients while simultaneously reducing polypharmacy and any potential harms from substance misuse to potential medical cannabinoid side effects.
Data related to pre-cannabinoid treatment methadone and suboxone use, the current opioid agonists treatment. (e.g., frequency of clinic visits, amount of methadone prescribed) and well as baseline quality of life measures will be collected following informed consent measures (e.g., sleep, diet, exercise, social patterns, etc.)
At the onset of treatment, a low-dose cannabinoid product will be medically prescribed and will be administered along with each prescribed methadone and/or suboxone dose of methadone and/ or suboxone. The cannabinoid will be administered orally using E.C.O. proprietary formulated medical products. The Harm Reduction Program will create personalized care plans for every patient who has a consultation. Care plans will include information on dosing, preferable type of administration, the form of medical cannabinoid products to utilize, and more.
Throughout participation in this study, participants will have the same opportunity to access prescribed methadone and/or suboxone, however, during the treatment phase, they will also have access to medical cannabinoid as described above, under the supervision of our medical team. Data related to methadone and/or suboxone use and quality of life measures will be collected at least bi-weekly throughout both baseline and treatment phases of the study.
The Pilot Program is funded through Health Canada’s Substance Use and Addictions Program (SUAP), which provides grants and contributions funding to respond to drug and substance use issues. SUAP provides funding for a wide range of innovative and evidence-informed projects addressing problematic substance use prevention, harm reduction and treatment initiatives across the country.
Thirty (30) community members who are currently using opioid agonists methadone or suboxone.
Following informed consent measures participants will meet with a member of the Health team for an intake and interview and assessment followed up with an Individualized care plan and counselling.
Physicians will prescribe a low dose of medical cannabinoid concurrent with the Opioid Agonists Treatment. (OAT)
Data related to pre-cannabinoid OAT as well as baseline quality of life measures will be collected.
Objective is to determine if this combined medical approach helps people reduce and/or replace OAT medication while determining the impact of the cannabinoid on the treatment, recovery, and quality of life for the participants.
Retired Assembly of First Nation Regional Chief, a veteran of 45 years in First Nation politics and a survivor of the residential (institution) school system and Indian Day school, is the founder behind this project. Through his adult life, Roger has advanced his bold and compassionate drive to turn his journey into reality through the principles of Peace and Friendship and possesses a well-established track record of advancing wellness for First Nation, Metis, and Innuit, communities across Canada.
In the late 1970s, as a councillor on the Eel Ground Band Council, Roger recognized the need for alcohol and drug education programming in his community. His ground-breaking work laid the foundation for his community’s Rising Sun facility which became a model replicated by First Nations across the country. Since that early foray into politics, Roger’s career included 16 years as Chief of Eel Ground, time spent as National Chief Phil Fontaine’s chief of staff, and for the past 16 years until his retirement in 2021, served as Assembly of First Nations Regional Chief for New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
Throughout his career Chief Roger, promoted wellness within his community and heralded it as a priority with the 634 other First Nations communities. His fundamental belief is that individual and community wellness is the foundation for enhancing the quality of life and capacity building both individually and as a more enriched community.
Its overarching goal is to meaningfully engage with traditional and harm reduction and wellness programing to ensure that members of the community(s) who have been regularly excluded from the
decisions that affect their lives and those of their brothers and sisters can be supported in regaining their rightful places in the community leading active and contributing roles, including leadership in their communities.
A Mi’gmaq community of 1080 and under the leadership of Chief George Ginnish has been an ardent supporter of the work of Roger Augustine’s work in this field including the establishment and operation of the Rising Sun facility This facility serves four other Mi’gmaq First Nations communities within a 45-minute drive. A primary focus of its leadership and its Elders is the wellness and health of its community.
A certified organic medical cannabis fully licensed with Health Canada producer, Iocated on the unceded territory of the Mi’gmaq people. Eco Canadian Organic Inc. (‘E.C.O.’) forges collaborative relationships aimed at fostering health and wellness to support First Nation communities, by promoting wellness and harm reduction, and developing health and wellness services to serve their communities. Denise & Brent Hannay, founders of E.C.O., initiated a meeting with Chief Roger in 2020 to discuss their vision and pilot project of medically prescribed cannabinoid as a replacement therapy in First Nations to overcome addiction as it relates to opioid and methadone treatment.
With over 20,000 patient interactions and a growing patient database, she is a leading clinical participant in McMaster University’s Cannabinoid Consumption & Study (DATACANN). She received both her MD and Rural Family Medicine Residency from McMaster University. Through a harm reduction lens, her Addiction Medicine focused practice serves vulnerable, rural, and remote underserved populations. She is committed to clinical research and is an Assistant Professor, Rady School of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, University of Manitoba. Dr. Turner provides a differentiated science and heart-based approach to patient care.
A team of researchers from the University of New Brunswick, under chief researcher Dr. Rob Moir, associate professor of business and director of the Urban &Community Studies Institute will design, develop, and assess the rigor, the non-medical health and wellness of this innovative cannabinoid alternative treatment regime. Guided by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and peer -reviewed research, researchers will seek to understand how the medical treatment affects the general health and wellness of both individuals in the program and upon the larger community. UNB’s research will respect the principles of ownership, control, access, and possession (OCAP) and be informed by the principles of the United Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
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Your job description can be concise and should include the following:
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desired skills and experience
project challenge, opportunity, of description of work you require.
Mandatory requirements (language, year of study, security clearance, citizenship)
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NEW: Enhancing the Co-operative Education Tax Credit
The 2009 Ontario Budget introduced enhancements to the Co-operative Education Tax Credit (CETC), effective for eligible expenditures incurred after March 26, 2009, that will:
increase the 10 per cent CETC rate to 25 per cent and the enhanced 15 per cent rate for small businesses to 30 per cent;
increase the maximum tax credit available from $1,000 to $3,000 per work placement.
There are opportunities that could help financial support employers.
For other programs on funding, please visit the following web sites:
Internships offer usually one discipline-specific, supervised, structured paid or unpaid, and for academic credit work experience or practice placement.
Work Experience intersperses one or two work terms (typically full-time) into an academic program, where work terms provide experience in a workplace setting related to the student’s field of study and/or career goals.
Community Service Learning (CSL) integrates meaningful community service with classroom instruction and critical reflection to enrich the learning experience and strengthen communities. In practice, students work in partnership with a community-based organization to apply their disciplinary knowledge to a challenge identified by the community.
Field Placement provides students with an intensive part-time/short term intensive hands-on practical experience in a setting relevant to their subject of study. Field placements may not require supervision of a registered or licensed professional and the completed work experience hours are not required for professional certification. Field placements account for work-integrated educational experiences not encompassed by other forms, such as co-op, clinic, practicum, and internship.
