Our most recent posts are listed below. To learn more about a specific issue, select a topic under “Our Work” in the menu above.
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Submission to Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration Bill C-12: Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act
Bill C-12 will overhaul how people in Canada can access refugee protection or maintain lawful status by introducing new eligibility bars to refugee protection, broadening government discretion to end refugee claims, granting government sweeping new powers to cancel immigration status, and authorizing increased data-sharing of personal information across government agencies and with foreign governments. Submission … Read more
Open Letter to Ontario Health Officials regarding Parkdale CTS Closure
November 4, 2025 Dear Minister Jones: cc: Premier Ford Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Vijay Thanigasalam Dr. Kieran Moore, Chief Medical Officer of Health Ontario Medical Officers of Health, Ontario Public Health Ontario Ontario Public Health Association Public Health Agency of Canada Association of Local Public Health Agencies We are writing to demand that … Read more
Open Letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand
Download the letter Sign the letter here. The Right Honourable Mark Carney, P.C., M.P Prime Minister of Canada 80 Wellington Street Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A2 November 7, 2025 Dear Prime Minister and Minister Anand, On behalf of the undersigned civil society and community-led organizations engaged in global health and international development, we take note of … Read more
It’s Not So Simple
It’s Not So Simple: The impact of simple drug possession and trafficking offences on health equity builds on research demonstrating the many harms resulting from laws and policies that punish people who use drugs by specifically examining the consequences of recent shifts in how police and prosecutors pursue and lay drug possession and trafficking charges. … Read more
The HIV Legal Network in the Caribbean
As a region, the Caribbean has the second-highest HIV prevalence rate in the world, after sub-Saharan Africa. UNAIDS and regional and national agencies have long identified homophobia as a factor contributing to this startling statistic. The legal and social environment varies significantly across the region, as does community organizing to defend and advance the human … Read more
Open Letter – Prohibition of sterile needle and syringe distribution within HART Hubs
Dear Minister Jones and Dr. Kieran Moore: cc: Medical Officers of Health, Ontario Public Health Ontario Ontario Public Health Association Infection Prevention and Control Canada Public Health Agency of Canada Association of Local Public Health Agencies RE: Prohibition of sterile … Read more
It is not a crime to save a life
Find out about the legal implications of operating an Overdose Prevention Site in Ontario and protections for operators and patrons. Supervised Consumption Sites (SCS) and Overdose Prevention Sites (OPS) are proven to save lives. In Ontario, 6-7 people die each day from toxic, unregulated drugs. Yet, as of 2025, Ontario has closed various kinds of consumption … Read more
Open Letter – The Strong Borders Act and its Harm to People Living with HIV and Other Marginalized Communities
June 17, 2025 The Honourable Gary Anandasangaree, P.C., M.P. Minister of Public Safety House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6 The Honourable Lena Metlege Diab, P.C., M.P. Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6 RE: The Strong Borders Act and its Harm to People Living with HIV and Other … Read more
Hard Time Persists: Healthcare and Harm Reduction in Canada’s Prison System
In 2007, the HIV Legal Network (Legal Network) published Hard Time: HIV and Hepatitis C Prevention Programming for Prisoners in Canada, exploring health and harm reduction policies and practices in Canada’s provincial, territorial, and federal prisons. Then, as now, the Legal Network confirmed that everyone benefits from improved healthcare in prison, and that imprisonment is … Read more
Statement – We condemn Government of Ontario’s forced closure of Parkdale’s only supervised consumption site
This statement can be attributed to the HIV Legal Network The Ford Government’s persistent attack on supervised consumption services and people who use drugs will end in further deaths October 27, 2025 –TORONTO – We are horrified by the Government of Ontario’s decision to force the closure of the Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS) site … Read more
MEDIA STATEMENT: Canada Must Show Leadership for Global Fund’s Eighth Replenishment
International Frontline Advocates in Ottawa to Rally Support for Critical Programming on Health and Human Rights This statement can be attributed to the HIV Legal Network October 20, 2025 – OTTAWA/TORONTO – Tomorrow — one month from the day that the Eighth Replenishment event for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria … Read more
Media Release – Ontario cuts back on proven prevention tools as HIV transmissions rise in Canada
More than 600 medical and legal experts issued an open letter today calling on the Government of Ontario to allow the distribution of syringes at HART Hubs Toronto ON – The Ontario government is endangering the health of people who use drugs by prohibiting the distribution of sterile needles and syringes through the province’s newly … Read more
MEDIA RELEASE: Despite Ontario Superior Court injunction recognizing irreparable harm, most remaining supervised consumption sites still facing forced closure tomorrow
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Despite Ontario Superior Court injunction recognizing irreparable harm, most remaining supervised consumption sites still facing forced closure tomorrow Toronto, ON | March 31, 2025 — In a small victory for those advocating for evidence-informed services, one Toronto supervised consumption site facing forced closure April 1, 2025, will keep its doors open as … Read more
Media Statement: The Neighbourhood Group Community Services and HIV Legal Network’s Comment Following the Conclusion of the Ontario Superior Court Constitutional Challenge on Supervised Consumption Sites
This statement can be attributed to The Neighbourhood Group Community Services and the HIV Legal Network March 26, 2025 – TORONTO – As of Tuesday, March 25, court proceedings in this challenge to Ontario’s Community Care and Recovery Act (CCRA) have now concluded. We are proud of the case we mounted at the Ontario Superior … Read more
STATEMENT: ONTARIO’S SO-CALLED COMMUNITY CARE AND RECOVERY ACT THREATENS THE HEALTH, SAFETY, AND LIBERTY OF MOST VULNERABLE MEMBERS OF COMMUNITIES PROVINCE-WIDE
We intervened in this critical legal challenge to uphold the health and human rights of those who are all too often pushed aside. For immediate release The following can be attributed to the HIV Legal Network and the HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario (HALCO), co-intervenors in the court challenge to Ontario’s Community Care and … Read more
Media Release: The Neighbourhood Group Community Services Files Charter Challenge Against Community Care and Recovery Act
DECEMBER 10, 2024 – Toronto, ON – Today, The Neighbourhood Group Community Services (TNGCS), located in Toronto’s Kensington Market, has taken legal action against the Community Care and Recovery Act, which was recently passed in the Ontario Legislature as part of Bill 223. The Act will force the closure of at least 10 supervised consumption … Read more
Media Release: The Government of Canada has broken its promise to reform the laws that criminalize people living with HIV
People living with HIV in Canada still live under the threat of ongoing criminalization; Canadian Government’s decision to abandon law reform efforts met with disappointment and anger November 28, 2024 – Ottawa, ON — With World AIDS Day approaching on December 1, and as a 2025 federal election looms, the Government of Canada has communicated … Read more
Media Statement: The Government of Ontario is Attempting to Force Through a Deadly Drug Policy Bill
This statement can be attributed to the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, the Drug Strategy Network of Ontario, and the HIV Legal Network. November 27, 2024 — Toronto, ON | We are watching with grave concern as the Government of Ontario attempts to force through radical legislation that will eliminate life-saving supervised consumption services (SCS) and … Read more
Media Statement – Government of Ontario’s Bill to Close Supervised Consumption Sites will Lead to More Deaths and Untenable Strain on Hospitals and First Responders
Advocates denounce the Government’s deliberate choice to legislate an increase in deaths, public drug use, and healthcare costs by eliminating supervised consumption services This statement can be attributed to the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, Drug Strategy Network of Ontario, HIV Legal Network, and Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario. November 20, 2024 – Earlier this week, … Read more