Butterfly (Asian and Migrant Sex Workers Support Network) and the HIV Legal Network are providing feedback with respect to the most recent proposed amendments to Newmarket’s body rub parlour bylaw. We urge the Newmarket Town Council to prioritize inclusion and respect as Newmarket community values — rather than promoting systemic racism and hateful perceptions of … Read more
LEADING CANADIAN HARM REDUCTION EXPERTS AND LAWMAKERS TO SPEAK AT 9TH SYMPOSIUM ON HIV, LAW, AND HUMAN RIGHTS Media Invited to Join Virtual Sessions on Drug Policy Landscape in Canada For immediate release Aussi disponible en français Members of the media are invited to attend Hitting the Mark: Ending the HIV pandemic by realizing rights for people who … Read more
CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS, FIVE FORMER TORONTO MAYORS CALL ON TORONTO TO DECRIMINALIZE SIMPLE DRUG POSSESSION NOW HIV Legal Network comment on report to Toronto Board of Health report This statement can be attributed to the HIV Legal Network. June 8, 2021 — As Toronto continues to experience unprecedented numbers of overdose deaths, each new month … Read more
STATEMENT: PASSING OF BILL 251 IN ONTARIO WILL NOT END HUMAN TRAFFICKING; WILL TRAMPLE ON HUMAN RIGHTS For immediate release The following can be attributed to Sandra Ka Hon Chu, Director of Research and Policy, HIV Legal Network and Elene Lam, Executive Director, Butterfly (Asian and Migrant Sex Workers Support Network). June 2, 2021 … Read more
National coalition comprised of people who use drugs and drug policy, human rights, and community organizations decry serious flaws in “Vancouver Model” and call for change A system designed ‘by’ police is ‘for’ police, not the people it was intended to help. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, May 11, 2021 Vancouver, B.C.—A broad-based Canada-wide coalition of … Read more
This is a policy brief on the specific impact of HIV criminalization in Canada on women and gender-diverse people, including exploring how it contributes to, and manifests as a form of, gender-based violence. The brief identifies legal and policy issues that need to be addressed to reduce HIV criminalization and better protect women against gender-based … Read more
The HIV Legal Network and HALCO have submitted this letter to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada in response to new regulations amending the immigration and refugee protection regulation. “While the public policy changes made in 2018 to excessive demand in relation to medical inadmissibility — and in particular the decision to raise the threshold by … Read more
In March 2020, the Ontario government announced a $307 million investment into a five-year anti-trafficking strategy. On February 22, 2021, Bill 251, Combating Human Trafficking Act, 2021 was introduced by Solicitor General Sylvia Jones in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The stated purpose of the Act is to combat human trafficking and provide support for … Read more
Promoting equity and evidence in drug policy in the midst and wake of COVID-19 This brief is submitted by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network (Special Consultative Status) on behalf of the Canadian Civil Society Working Group on United Nations Drug Policy. It should be considered alongside the submission by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use … Read more
SEX WORKER HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS LAUNCH CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGE PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 30, 2021 – The Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform — an alliance of 25 sex worker rights groups across the country led predominantly by and for sex workers — along with several individual applicants, have filed a … Read more