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.”
It is now well recognized, not just by sex workers but by a wide range of human rights organizations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women, and the Center for Health and Gender Equity, United Nations bodies such as the UN Development Programme, the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS, … Read more
Drug policy is at a critical juncture in Canada, and we need our elected representatives to put even greater emphasis on public health objectives and outcomes, respecting human rights for all. Welcome steps have been taken on this front following the 2015 election, including restoring harm reduction as a key pillar of Canada’s drug strategy, … Read more
The following blog post contains images and descriptions of violence against LGBTQI people which may be upsetting. By Maurice Tomlinson, Senior Policy Analyst The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network joins Barbadian organizations and individuals in calling for immediate police action in the recent savage attack against local transgender activist Alexa Hoffmann. On the morning of Sunday, … Read more
In February 2018, the Commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada retired. The Legal Network sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Ralph Goodale, and Clerk of the Privy Council Michael Wernick to tell them the appointment of a new CSC Commissioner presents a key opportunity to promote … Read more
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.
In this brief, the Legal Network provides information about Canada’s implementation of its international human rights obligations as raised in the draft report, organized under subheadings included in the draft report. It expands on issues presented in the Legal Network’s Submission to the United Nations Human Rights Council’s UPR Working Group in advance of the … Read more
The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network’s strategic plan, Respect, Protect, Fulfill: A Human Rights Response to HIV sets out the goals for the organization over the next five years.
The Legal Network, Canadian Drug Policy Coalition and International Centre for Science in Drug Policy issued a joint letter to Ms. Victoria Atkins, MP, and Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the UK Home Office, regarding comments made during a Parliamentary debate about Drug Consumption Rooms.