An open letter, sent on December 20, 2016 to Prime Minister Trudeau, Finance Minister Bill Morneau and then Health Minister Jane Philpott to draw attention to a serious, ongoing challenge to the HIV response in Canada. Over the last decade, there has been a very substantial loss of federal funds that were to have been … Read more
Today, after years of advocacy by community organizations, both the federal and Ontario governments have finally recognized the need to limit the “overcriminalization of HIV” in Canada. They have each taken a first step toward that end—specifically, by recognizing that a person living with HIV who has a suppressed viral load should not be criminally … Read more
With World AIDS Day just a few days away, the Canadian Coalition to Reform HIV Criminalization (CCRHC) has released a joint Community Consensus Statement endorsed by over 150 organizations across the country, from the HIV sector and beyond. Developed through several months of cross-country consultation, the statement shows clear consensus against the current overly broad … Read more
OTTAWA November 17, 2017 — Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (“IRPA”), foreign nationals are inadmissible to Canada if their health condition might reasonably be expected to cause an “excessive demand” on health or social services, or if they have an inadmissible family member. Due to the high cost of antiretroviral medications, people living … Read more
Maurice Tomlinson’s 2017 Montego Bay Pride video diary In October, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network helped launch Intimate Conviction, a two-day international conference examining the Church and anti-gay laws across the Commonwealth, and supported a new generation of local LGBTQI leaders to organize the third successful Montego Bay Pride, with more than 850 people participating. … Read more
The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (“IRPA”) stipulates that foreign nationals are inadmissible to Canada on health grounds if their health condition might reasonably be expected to cause an “excessive demand” on health or social services, or if they have an inadmissible family member (i.e., an inadmissible spouse or dependent child). In this submission, we will … Read more
In 2016, we undertook a planning process to set our strategic directions for the next five years (2017–2022), including seeking the input of our members, key partners and supporters. This is a summary of the Legal Network’s 2017–2022 strategic plan.
By Maurice Tomlinson, Senior Policy Analyst, Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network October 24, 2017 For the third year in a row the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network collaborated with local and international partners to host a successful and incident-free Montego Bay Pride! Starting with about 150 participants in 2015, Montego Bay Pride expanded to over 300 people … Read more
“The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network welcomes this opportunity to provide submissions to the House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade (the “Committee”) as part of its upcoming consultations regarding the priorities of Canadian stakeholders having an interest in bilateral and trilateral trade in North America between Canada, the United States and Mexico. “Given the … Read more
By Maurice Tomlinson, Senior Policy Analyst, Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network October 19, 2017 In 2010, I received an email from a stranger who promised to kill me if I continued to advocate for LGBTQI human rights in Jamaica. I was urged to go to the police and make a report — the first time I … Read more