April 8, 2019 — Brandon Coward, who attacked Barbadian trans woman Alexa Hoffmann with a meat cleaver on February 18, 2018, was today convicted in the Oistins Magistrates Court by Magistrate Elwood Watts and ordered to compensate Alexa BD$460 (about CAD$306) or face three months in prison. The gruesome attack left Alexa with serious injuries, … Read more
Criminal law has perpetually trapped sex workers within dualities of criminality and victimization. Whereas the previous criminal offences concerning sex work framed sex workers in terms of nuisance and criminality, the passage of the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA) in 2014 legally enshrined sex workers as victims, invalidating the labour of sex … Read more
Criminal law has perpetually trapped sex workers within dualities of criminality and victimization. Whereas the previous criminal offences concerning sex work framed sex workers in terms of nuisance and criminality, the passage of the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA) in 2014 legally enshrined sex workers as victims, invalidating the labour of sex … Read more
On March 20, 2019, a group of scientists wrote to the Hon. Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, and Anne Kelly, Commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada, about the evaluation of the Government of Canada’s “Prison Needle Exchange Program.” The text of the letter is available in the download below.
Submission to the International Commission of Jurists’ consultation: “Developing principles to address the detrimental impact on health, equality and human rights of criminalization with a focus on select conduct in the areas of sexuality, reproduction, drug use and HIV” February 2019 The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network (“Legal Network”) welcomes this opportunity to make a submission … Read more
On March 18, 2019, the Legal Network made an oral statement to the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs – “Implementation of the international drug control treaties.” “Thank you, Mr. Chair, for the opportunity to contribute to this discussion regarding the implementation of the international drug control treaties. For more than 20 years, Member States have recognized, … Read more
Statement submitted by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, Sixty-second session, Vienna, 14–22 March 2019. “We urge Member States to promote a public health approach focused on promoting health and social justice, rather than relying predominantly on criminal law responses. A public health approach is an organized, comprehensive, multi-sectoral effort directed at … Read more
“Re: City of Toronto’s consultation on human trafficking The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network (“Legal Network”) promotes the human rights of people living with, at risk of or affected by HIV or AIDS, in Canada and internationally, through research and analysis, litigation and other advocacy, public education and community mobilization. We are also a member of … Read more
Letter to the Standing Committee on Justice Policy, attention Jocelyn McCauley, Clerk March 6, 2019 As organizations involved in the response to HIV in Ontario, we write to express our concerns with certain provisions in the recently introduced Bill 68 (Comprehensive Ontario Police Services Act, 2019) – and specifically the provisions in Schedule 7 that … Read more
In the midst of a growing overdose crisis, more than 75 health and human rights organizations have signed a letter to the federal government calling for a much-needed “class exemption” to protect clients and staff of supervised consumption services (SCS) from prosecution for drug offences when accessing or providing those services. These organizations are also … Read more