September 5, 2024
[West Nipissing, ON] – Mayor Kathleen Thorne Rochon has been invited to join the National Mayor’s Panel as part of the Municipal Leadership on Substance Use Summit, taking place in Timmins, Ontario from September 5 – 7, 2024. This first-of-its-kind summit, convened by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA), aims to address the pressing challenges related to substance use in communities across Canada.
Mayor Thorne Rochon’s participation will bring valuable insights from a small-town perspective, ensuring that the unique challenges and opportunities faced by communities like West Nipissing are represented in national discussions. She will be joining mayors from Charlottetown (P.E.I), Iqaluit (Nunavut), Lethbridge (Alberta), Timmins (Ontario), and Cambridge (Ontario) to discuss the impact of the substance use crisis in small and mid-size cities across the country.
The Timmins Summit is part of a larger initiative launched by the CCSA, which includes collaboration with municipalities across Canada. The panel’s goal is to develop actionable strategies that can be implemented at the local level to combat substance use and its impacts on communities. Mayor Thorne Rochon’s role will involve contributing to policy recommendations, sharing best practices, and advocating for resources that support municipal efforts in this critical area.
In response to her invitation, Mayor Thorne Rochon stated, “I am honored to be invited to join this national conversation on substance use, alongside colleagues from across the country. I believe that by working together, we can ensure that the developed solutions and policies can be scaled to the needs of communities like ours. I also believe that through this, we can help to continue the bolstering of West Nipissing’s credibility and reputation, and position us as leaders in Northern Ontario.”
As per the CCSA, the Timmins Summit is just the beginning of a multiphase initiative to work with communities to develop standards that will provide municipal leaders with a consolidated range of evidence-based options to enact locally. These standards will help unlock vital government support, as well as reduce the growing polarization concerning this crisis.
For more information on the National Panel on Municipal Leadership and Substance Use, please view the CCSA’s Official Press Release or visit their official website.
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