In this video, the Honourable Louise Arbour condemns the devastating “war on drugs” and calls for a human rights-based approach to drug policy.
Publication Language: English
Love and Respect: Q&A on Jamaican TV ad court case
In 2012, Jamaican human rights activists and AIDS-Free World produced “Love and Respect,” a short, 30-second video advertisement calling for respect for the basic human rights of Jamaican LGBTI people. However, television stations in Jamaica refused to air it as a paid advertisement. prompting this legal proceeding. Jamaican human rights activist, Maurice Tomlinson, is pursuing … Read more
Net(work) Gains: Annual Report 2014–2015
Highlights of our work in Canada and around the world from April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015
Update: R v. Smith – Supreme Court sensibly strikes down arbitrary restrictions in Canada’s regulations on medical cannabis
June 11, 2015 The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, the Canadian AIDS Society and HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario (HALCO) welcome the decision today in the case of R v. Smith, in which the Supreme Court of Canada unanimously decided that patients with a legal authorization to use cannabis as medicine are entitled to consume … Read more
Needle and syringe programs in prison: Why?
June 10, 2015 When we call on the Government of Canada to protect prisoners’ right to health by introducing prison-based needle and syringe programs, it is essential that the voices of people living in Canadian prisons be heard. Jarrod, a current federal prisoner, writes about how the Canadian government is failing to protect its prison … Read more
Statement Condemning the Passage of Bill C-2, the So-called Respect for Communities Act
“We, the undersigned, firmly believe that today’s anticipated Senate passage of Bill C-2, the so-called Respect for Communities Act, undermines the rights of people who use drugs to access life-saving and health-protecting services.”
Drug policy and human rights: the Canadian context — Submission to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
“Canada is a party to the three main UN drug control conventions, which aim to control illicit drugs by reducing supply and demand, in particular through requiring States Parties to adopt varying degrees of prohibitions and sanctions on a range of designated controlled substances, while also providing some degree of (often contested) flexibility for States … Read more
Bringing Science to Justice: Beyond the Canadian Consensus Statement on HIV and its Transmission in the Context of Criminal Law
May 7, 2015 On April 30, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network co-hosted this ancillary event at the Annual Canadian Conference on HIV/AIDS Research (CAHR), along with the Canadian Experts on HIV and Transmission Team, and HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario (HALCO). In 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada took a step in the wrong … Read more
Prison Health Now: Needle and Syringe Programs in Canada’s Prisons
May 7, 2015 On April 30, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network co-hosted an ancillary event on this topic at the Annual Canadian Conference on HIV/AIDS Research (CAHR), along with the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network (CAAN), Native Youth Sexual Health Network, Prisoners with HIV/AIDS Support Action Network (PASAN), and Ryerson University’s Department of Criminology. There’s a … Read more
Ontario turning its back on sex workers – Statement
While Ontario Attorney General Madeleine Meilleur has not yet publicly released her review of Canada’s new, misguided sex work law, we understand – according to a reported statement today by Premier Kathleen Wynne – that this review has found “no clear unconstitutionality” in the socalled Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act. We disagree with … Read more