Every November, the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction hosts its National Addictions Awareness Week to initiate an annual conversation about substance use and its impact across Canada. This year’s event takes place November 15-22.
Below, we’ve rounded up a few of our most requested speakers during National Addictions Awareness Week. Contact us for more information and to book your November event today.
Mental Health and Addictions Experts and Advocates
Jordin Tootoo
The First Inuk Player in the NHL | Founder of the Team Tootoo Foundation
Jordin Tootoo made history as the first Inuk player to be drafted by the NHL. This pressure would have been more than enough, but Jordin faced something far more difficult ahead of his first shift for the Nashville Predators — the tragic loss of his older brother.
Though he played through it, Jordin suffered from many of the same problems that have plagued so many people from his community. In 2010, he checked himself into rehab for alcohol addiction. In this bold and inspirational keynote, Jordin shares a searing, honest tale of how in rising to every challenge, he almost fell short in the toughest game of all.
Dr. Shimi Kang
Leading Expert in Change, Leadership, Innovation, and Wellness
An award-winning medical doctor, Dr. Shimi Kang is one of Canada’s few addiction psychiatrists (including technology overuse). She is currently a practicing psychiatrist and clinical associate professor at the University of British Columbia, and the principal investigator for Canada’s first research study on psychedelics for treating addiction, depression, and PTSD.
Shimi can dive deep into the science behind addiction while sharing research-backed solutions to one of the most vexing issues of our time.
Steven Page
Iconic Musician
Former Barenaked Ladies frontman Steven Page delivers a raw look at mental health and addiction, drawing from his own struggles with bipolar disorder and substance use. He speaks passionately on a twofold approach to promoting mental health as a society: increasing awareness and decreasing stigma.
With wit and vulnerability, Steven explores how his 2008 arrest became the catalyst for confronting decades of hidden struggle. Through storytelling and music, he shows how breaking silence around mental health can save lives and reminds us that everyone has a role in creating supportive communities.
Clint Malarchuk
Former NHL Goaltender | Mental Health Advocate
No job in the world of sports is as intimidating, exhilarating, and stressful as that of an NHL hockey goaltender. Now imagine doing that job while suffering from anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, and depression, and having your career nearly cut short by a skate slicing across your neck.
Clint Malarchuk shares his extraordinary and heart-wrenching life story — which includes a long battle with alcoholism and 20 years of undiagnosed PTSD that led him to almost ending his life — in his relentless effort to help end the stigma of mental illness and to help others who may suffer as well.
Mary Walsh
Comedian | Actress | Mental Health Advocate
Best known for creating and starring on CBC’s This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Mary Walsh is one of Canada’s most respected and outspoken advocates for mental health and addiction awareness.
A former spokesperson for Bell Let’s Talk Day, this acclaimed comedian and television personality uses her trademark humour to dive deep into life’s triumphs and tribulations in an effort to help dispel the stigma surrounding mental health and addiction.
Contact us to learn more about our addiction specialists and advocates.
