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Bill C-66, An Act to establish a procedure for expunging certain historically unjust convictions and to make related amendments to other Acts, is a long-overdue effort by the Government of Canada to correct the historical, systemic oppression of gender and sexual minorities. In its current form, Bill C-66 is fundamentally flawed. This bill was drafted … Read more

For 25 years, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network has been defending and advancing human rights in response to HIV, in Canada and globally. This milestone will be commemorated in Vancouver on Friday, April 27, with a reception attended by former Legal Network board president and current B.C. Attorney General, the Hon. David Eby.

Today, after years of advocacy by HIV, disability and migrant rights organizations, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship announced changes to the rules that exclude would-be residents of Canada based on projected “excessive demand” on health and social services. These changes, however, fall far short of the full repeal of the current flawed, discriminatory … Read more

As community organizations are closing, the federal government presides over the continued steady erosion of federal HIV funding, with $104 million in funds lost from the response.

OTTAWA, March 27, 2018 – Today, Maurice Tomlinson, Senior Policy Advisor with the Legal Network, spoke to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration about his personal experience of immigrating to Canada and shared recommendations for improving the process for LGBTQ refugee claimants. Click below to download the text of his oral … Read more

“By some estimates, approximately 400 million LGBT persons live under the threat of criminal imprisonment or even death in their home country. The Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) is faced with thousands of refugee claimants each year trying to escape persecution in their home country simply because of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. While strides have been made to improve the cultural sensitivity of IRB members, more could be done to enhance the cultural competence of IRB members—charged with making decisions about the lives of LGBT persons seeking asylum in Canada.”

The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network stands in support of the Private Member’s Bill to repeal Section 38(1)(c) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA)—which we called for before the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration last November. We hope that Parliamentarians from all parties will vote in favour of this proposal.

The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, the HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario (HALCO) and the Canadian Professional Association for Transgender Health (CPATH), welcome today’s decision by Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice (Divisional Court) regarding whether doctors can put their personal religious beliefs ahead of patients’ rights to health care. As we argued before the court, … Read more

With Canada’s fatal overdose crisis still surging, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, in collaboration with the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council, issued 50,000 wallet-size cards with vital information about the 2017 Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act. The cards and an accompanying fact sheet were provided to people who use drugs, service providers and volunteer organizations … Read more

Today, after years of advocacy by community organizations, both the federal and Ontario governments have finally recognized the need to limit the “overcriminalization of HIV” in Canada. They have each taken a first step toward that end—specifically, by recognizing that a person living with HIV who has a suppressed viral load should not be criminally … Read more