Unsafe injecting drug use is a primary driver of HIV infection in Russia. The inability of current or former injecting drug users to access prevention and treatment services is compounded by the highly punitive measures meted out by law enforcement, including frequent arrest and incarceration. These trying circumstances led three brave individuals to pursue access … Read more
“As Canada prepares to enact legislation that will legalize and regulate cannabis, the government should begin to explore Canada’s options for ensuring that the country’s international legal obligations are brought into alignment with its new legal framework for cannabis. Canada’s reform will inevitably involve entering into non-compliance with specific elements of the UN drug control … Read more
In 2014, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network (“Legal Network”) and the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network (CAAN) began collaborating to produce a series of legal information resources for Indigenous communities living with and affected by HIV and/or hepatitis C (HCV). In support of this effort, a legal needs assessment was carried out to determine priority legal … Read more
TORONTO, January 17, 2017 — In a profoundly disappointing move by a government that claims to support harm reduction and “evidence-based policies,” the Government of Canada has withdrawn from a planned mediation, preferring to waste more money on lawyers to fight evidence-based harm reduction services in prisons. Meanwhile, prisoners will continue to needlessly contract preventable … Read more
The following blog post was written by Andrew Beckerman, a long-term HIV survivor and an active board member of the Legal Network since 2014. “I didn’t always believe in magic, but I am starting to believe. My epiphany came as a result of the inspiring and incredible work being done by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal … Read more
“On behalf of the Canadian Coalition to Reform HIV Criminalization, we would like to thank you for making an important statement on World AIDS Day denouncing the over-criminalization of HIV non-disclosure in Canada.”
TORONTO, December 12, 2016 — The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network welcomes the introduction of Bill C-37, which – at long last – signals a real turning point in Canada’s drug policy, emphasizing evidence, public health and human rights above fear, stigma and misinformation. We are heartened that the federal government is taking this much-needed action … Read more
“We call on the 17th Philippines Congress to preserve the right to life, and to not bring back use of the death penalty as proposed in House Bill No. 1. We urge all members of the House of Representatives and Senate to uphold the right to life enshrined in the Philippines Constitution 1987 (the Constitution) … Read more
Today, we remember the 14 women who lost their lives in a horrific act of gender-based violence at the hands of a lone gunman in Montréal. Though the incident occurred over 25 years ago, our society continues to struggle with the structural violence against women that manifests in many forms, and in many arenas, all … Read more
TORONTO, December 1, 2016 — The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and the HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario (HALCO) welcome today’s statement by Canadian Minister of Justice Jody Wilson-Raybould recognizing the ongoing problem of overly-broad, unjust criminalization of people living with HIV. Today, fittingly for World AIDS Day, the federal government has signaled its intent … Read more