Essential Assessment Insights and Updates from the Experts

Why disability case managers often notice claims patterns shift in the final two months of the year - and what a clinical view of the season adds to that observation.

For Movember - what the substance use data tells us about men's mental health, and why the conversation needs to include it directly.

For Mental Illness Awareness Week - why most mental health disability files involve more than one condition, and what that means for how they get assessed.

For Healthy Workplace Month - why posting an EAP number isn't the same as building a workplace where someone can raise a substance use concern, and what closes that gap.

September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day. For most of the people reading this blog, the conversation about suicide doesn't happen in our work as often as it should - even though our work touches it constantly.

Why 'high-functioning' is one of the most misused terms in substance use - and how it quietly shapes workplace and disability claim decisions. 

Six months into 2026, the disability claims landscape in Canada looks different than it did at the start of the year.

 Canada has now operated under a legalized recreational cannabis framework for nearly eight years. The Cannabis Act came into force in October 2018, and what was framed as a transitional policy question has become a settled one.  

Written by National Director, Substance Use Policy and Programs, Alexandra Perry.

Canadian Men's Mental Health Week runs June 9 to 15. The campaign rightly highlights the pressures Canadian men face.