Drug Treatment Courts (Canada)

The first DTC in Canada was a pilot project in Toronto, Ontario in 1998^[1] co-founded by Justice Kofi Barnes^[5] and financed with Justice Canada's Drug Treatment Court Funding Program.^[6] It was inspired by drug courts that originated in the United States in Miami, Florida in 1989.^[7] In Canada, the program expanded to Vancouver, British Columbia in 2001, Edmonton, Alberta in December 2005, Winnipeg, Manitoba in January 2006, and Calgary in 2007. By 2022, there were 14 DTCs in Ontario alone.^[8] The first DTC in Saskatchewan opened in Regina in 2006, the second in Moose Jaw in 2009, and the third in Battleford in 2025.^[9][10]

G

• Gutierrez, Leticia; Bourgon, Guy (2009). Drug Treatment Courts: A Quantitative Review of Study and Treatment Quality 2009 (PDF) (Report). Ottawa, Ontario: Public Safety Canada. p. 21. ISBN 978-1-100-14490-0. Retrieved 22 March 2026.

H

• "2019 Environmental Scan Key Findings" (PDF). Human Services and Justice Coordinating Committee and Ontario Drug Treatment Courts. 2022.

J

• "Overview of the drug treatment court funding program". Department of Justice. 22 January 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2026.

L

• Latimer, Jeff; Morton-Bourgon, Kelly; Chrétien, Jo-Anne (August 2006). A Meta-Analytic Examination of Drug Treatment Courts: Do they Reduce Recidivism?. Department of Justice Canada (Report). Ottawa, Ontario. p. 19.
• "It's harder than going to jail: How new drug treatment courts are breaking the chain of crime and addiction". Legal Aid Alberta. 26 November 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2026.

N

• "Calgary Drug Treatment Court Celebrates 15-year Anniversary". City of Calgary Newsroom. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2026.

P

• "Toronto Drug Treatment Court project". Public Safety Canada. 21 December 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2026.

S

• Saskatchewan Justice (29 September 2015). Regina Drug Treatment Court - One Success Story at a Time. Event occurs at 20:21. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
• "Drug Treatment Court". Saskatchewan Courts. 2025. Retrieved 31 March 2026.

Y

• Kofi N. Barnes (Guest) (29 July 2015). 2014 Bryden Alumni Awards - Kofi N. Barnes (Acceptance Speech). Event occurs at 17:57. Retrieved 30 March 2026.