On Monday, August 25, 2025, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health, Maggie Chi, announced over $10 million in funding to support initiatives that empower Canadians to adopt healthy behaviours through the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Healthy Canadians and Communities Fund. “By working with our community partners, we’re ensuring that all Canadians, regardless of background or circumstance, have the opportunity to live healthier lives. Together, we’re building inclusive programs that foster well-being and reduce the risk of chronic disease,” said Maggie Chi, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health.
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) was among several selected organizations to receive a portion of the funding, which went towards a partnership between INTREPID Lab, led by Dr. Peter Selby, senior scientist and senior medical consultant at CAMH, and the Black Health Alliance (BHA), led by Paul Bailey, Executive Director of BHA. Together, they aim to improve health outcomes within Black communities for people wanting to reduce or quit smoking.
INTREPID Lab manages one of the largest programs in Ontario to help people quit smoking, Smoking Treatment for Ontario Patients (STOP), supporting communities across the province. However, upon further research, they discovered some members of the community faced barriers in accessing the program. Jama Yusuf, Research Coordinator at INTREPID Labs, noted, “the people accessing our program were not representative of Ontario’s population. In particular, we were not reaching Black communities, especially here in the Greater Toronto Area, where so many live.”
To help bridge the gap in accessing smoking cessation services, INTREPID Lab partnered with the Black Health Alliance to design and develop smoking cessation services that are culturally responsive, inclusive, and rooted in equity. To do this, they have taken a community-based participatory research approach, co-creating every step of the project with Black community members here in Ontario. “We are working hand-in-hand with an advisory group made up of Black community members, as well as individuals with extensive experience working alongside Black communities, including community leaders, healthcare providers, and most importantly, people with lived and living experience of smoking and tobacco use,” Jama Yusuf explained. This partnership is made possible with the additional support from AMANI, TAIBU Community Health Centre, CAFCAN Social Services, Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre, and Unison Health Community Health Centre.
With this new funding, INTREPID Lab and BHA plan to move the project into the implementation phase. Paul Bailey acknowledged, the government funding “supports the creation of solutions that address the distinct access challenges faced by Black communities and are built by and for Black communities.” He added, “This approach must be built upon to continue successfully improving the health and well-being of the Black population in Canada.”
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