Backgrounder: Bilateral Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of Nunavut under the Emergency Treatment Fund

December 2018

The opioid crisis is a national public health crisis that continues to devastate individuals, families and communities. As part of the efforts to address this crisis, the Government of Canada is working with all provinces and territories to enhance access to treatment services for substance use disorders.

The bilateral agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of Nunavut under the Emergency Treatment Fund (ETF) will provide culturally appropriate and relevant treatment services for people who are seeking help for substance use disorders. Specifically, this agreement will enable the territory to enhance community-based programs that will offer on-the-land healing camps and other community supports.

Emergency Treatment Fund

Announced as part of the Budget 2018 funding to help address the opioid crisis, the Emergency Treatment Fund provides one-time emergency funding of $150 million for provinces and territories to improve access to evidence-based treatment services. This fund is cost-shared with provinces and territories and will bring the total investment to $300 million.

The Federal Government has allocated funding based on the severity of the opioid crisis in the province or territory and the size of the population in the province or territory. This ensures that provinces and territories most impacted by the crisis have enough support, and that those jurisdictions that are not yet as affected are able to prepare for possible future impacts. This funding level is matched by the province and territory beyond the first $250,000, and the jurisdiction has up to five years to match the initial influx of money from the federal government.

As part of each bilateral agreement, an action plan will be posted on our website to showcase the work that will be done as part of this fund. In addition, each province and territory will be asked to report at regular intervals to showcase the progress made to increase access to innovative and evidence-based treatment in their province.

For more information on federal actions on the opioid crisis, please visit Canada.ca/Opioids.