Opioid Agonist Treatment

The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) provides opiate agonist treatment (OAT) to patients with an opioid use disorder (OUD). CSC introduced methadone over 20 years ago methadone, Suboxone (buprenorphine-naloxone), and Sublocade (injectable buprenorphine).

Since December 2016, at the outset of the opioid overdose crisis, CSC has considerably increased the number of patients on OAT.  CSC has continued to address opioid use disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic from its beginning in March 2020.

Waitlists for access to OAT in CSC institutions

CSC has been working to reduce wait times for offenders who wish to participate in OAT. The following data show a point-in-time snapshot of the number of individuals, by institution, on OAT and the number of individuals on the wait list.

• March 2022
• December 2021
• September 2021
• June 2021
• January 2021
• March 2020
• December 2019
• July 2019

Guidance for OAT

In 2019, CSC developed a guidance document for the delivery of OAT to ensure consistent, standardized and effective treatment for patients across all sites and regions within CSC. Updates to the guidance are ongoing as appropriate, in partnership with public health and addictions experts, and will continue to be available on the CSC website.

• Guidance on Opioid Agonist Treatment (OAT)

More information

• Fact sheet: Opioid use disorder and Opioid Agonist Treatment