Statement: Advocates welcome major concessions in Government of Canada’s prison needle exchange announcement

May 14, 2018 — Today, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale and Correctional Services Canada (CSC) Interim Commissioner Anne Kelly quietly announced a prison needle exchange program (PNSP) to be implemented in two federal prisons. Many prisoners, public health experts and advocates, including the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, have fought for more than 20 years for … Read more

Joint Statement of Civil Society Organizations in advance of the Thirty-Ninth Meeting of the Global Fund Board

“On the 9th – 10th of May 2018, the Global Fund’s Board will consider revisions to the Fund’s Eligibility Policy based upon recommendations from its Strategy Committee. While some of these recommendations are positive, others raise serious concerns. By this Statement we – the organizations representing civil society and including communities of people living with … Read more

Health care in provincial correctional facilities – Joint submission to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services

This submission by the Legal Network, HALCO and PASAN details the rights of prisoners to the equivalent access to health care as people in the community and urges the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services to ensure these rights. We call on the Ministries to make … Read more

Racism and Prejudice Have No Place in City Hall – A Message to Toronto City Council

Last month, representatives from holistic practitioner, sex worker and human rights organizations gathered in Committee Room 1 at Toronto City Hall to make deputations to the Municipal and Licensing Standards Committee about the bylaws governing holistic practitioners and body-rub providers. The meeting was prompted by a study of licensing for holistic centres and body-rub parlours, … Read more

A flawed breach of justice: Bill C-66

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

Submission to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada Regarding its Draft Position on Online Reputation

This submission is made jointly by the HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario (HALCO) and the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network in response to the call for comments from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada on its Draft Position on Online Reputation. The rapid proliferation of personal information online, driven by the monetization of … Read more

Ron Rosenes Submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Rights

The 1981 bathhouse raids in Toronto were a brutal attack by the police force on members of a marginalized community. On February 5th of that year, four bathhouses were simultaneously raided by police, who arrested and humiliated the men inside. These men had done nothing wrong, but some were convicted of being “found-ins at a … Read more

Media advisory: Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network marks 25 years of rights and resistance

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.

Brief to the Standing Senate Committee regarding Bill C-66, An Act to establish a procedure for expunging certain historically unjust convictions and to make related amendments to other Acts

While Bill C-66, An Act to establish a procedure for expunging certain historically unjust convictions and to make related amendments to other Acts (“Bill C-66”), was described by Member of Parliament Randy Boissonnault as a law intended to address criminal offences that were used “to victimize LGBTQ2S+ people systematically,” the Legal Network and HALCO are … Read more

A Modest Advance on Medical Inadmissability

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