Michel Perron, Chief Executive Officer
Michel Perron is Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, a position he has held since 1999. Mr. Perron is responsible for the strategic vision, direction and day-to-day leadership of CCSA, Canada's national addictions agency. He has led the Centre through a critical growth phase, in terms of both size and mandate, and was among the first to champion the need for the National Framework for Action to Reduce the Harms Associated with Alcohol, Other Drugs and Substances in Canada. Under his leadership, CCSA has continued to expand its focus and reach, and to solidify its position as a key national resource on substance abuse issues.
Before joining CCSA, Mr. Perron held a number of positions with the Federal Government of Canada. He began his career with the public service at Revenue Canada in 1983, initially as a Customs Officer and subsequently in a variety of positions. From 1993 to 1995, he was the senior advisor to Canada's Drug Strategy Secretariat at Health Canada. He joined the Office of the Solicitor-General Canada as a senior policy advisor in 1995 with responsibility for providing advice on domestic and international drug policy and legislative issues. He later became the lead drug policy advisor to the Deputy Solicitor-General in his capacity as Canada's principal delegate to the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD).
Michel is Vice-Chair of the Vienna Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) Committee on Narcotic Drugs, and Chair of the Steering Committee for "Beyond 2008", a global NGO forum coinciding with the 1998-2008 review of the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on illicit drugs.