Dr. Peter R. Butt
Saskatoon, SK - 2023

Dr. Peter Butt has been awarded certification and fellowship from the CFPC, with a Certificate of Added Competence in Addiction Medicine. He is a clinical associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan and has served as a consultant in addiction medicine in the Saskatchewan Health Authority for 24 years. Prior to that, he practised comprehensive rural family medicine with additional training in anesthesiology, certified in emergency medicine, practised palliative care, and was the Director of Northern Medical Services. Indigenous health care has been an important focus throughout his career.

Dr. Butt chaired the original development of Canada’s Low Risk Drinking Guidelines (2011), co-chaired the Canadian Guidelines on Alcohol Use Disorder Among Older Adults (2019), and co-chaired the 2023 Canadian Guidance on Alcohol and Health with the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction. Other research he has focused on is the human canine bond in substance use disorder, alcohol toxicity deaths, addiction care during the COVID-19 pandemic, Indigenous community tobacco reduction strategies, SBIRT process mapping, and the prevention of binge drinking among post secondary students.

As Dr. Butt feels, where else but in family medicine can you have such a diverse, fascinating, and rewarding career? Research is a collective effort, however, and requires support in terms of space, time, funding, and human resources to obtain the greatest benefit from those who wish to participate. It will only grow in importance as our discipline evolves to the Patient’s Medical Home vision, with a greater focus on community and population health needs.