Drug treatment courts, which are judicially mandated treatment alternatives to the incarceration of illicit drug offenders, were introduced in Canada in late 1998. Recent announcements from the federal government suggest that the drug treatment court model will continue to operate and expand in a number of Canadian jurisdictions. Two major evaluations of these programs – … Read more
A wealth of scientific evidence has shown that methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) is the most effective intervention available for the treatment of opiate dependence. MMT has been associated with reductions in risk behaviour, illicit drug use, criminal behaviour, participation in sex work, unemployment, mortality, and HIV transmission. Many of the concerns raised about MMT have … Read more
A substantial amount of scientific evidence has shown that needle and syringe programs (NSPs) in the community are the most effective intervention available to prevent HIV transmission associated with injecting drug use. As well, NSPs have been associated with increases in access to care and treatment among people who use such programs, and with substantial … Read more
FEATURES Women’s rights consultation in Johannesburg Going global: AIDS law portal project lifts off MOVING ON Leon Mar KUDOS Thomas Kerr MEDIA SCAN IN BRIEF Human rights guidelines for pharmaceutical companies Legal Network supports Caribbean activist coalition World Bank conference in Uzbekistan Communicating harm reduction Counterfeit drug strategy? NEW THIS QUARTER
“We write to you to lodge formally a complaint regarding the conduct of Mr. Justice Jon-Jo Douglas, of the Ontario Court of Justice (Central East Region), in the recent proceeding of R. v. Wilde (accused charged with sexual assault allegedly committed upon the complainant during incarceration at the Central North Correctional Centre). . . “We … Read more
Many Canadian provinces have passed legislation that authorizes testing someone for HIV without his or her consent. This document provides information about occupational exposure to HIV, and the legal and human rights concerns raised by forced HIV testing.
“We write to express our concern about certain recommendations made by the Correctional Services Canada (CSC) Review Panel in its recently released final report, A Roadmap to Strengthening Public Safety — recommendations which, in our view, are not guided by the best available evidence and by human rights principles. . . .”
The goal of this report is to encourage and aid prison systems, other sectors of government, non-governmental and community organizations, and prisoners themselves in responding to the challenges of HIV and HCV, particularly with respect to prevention. This report is intended to fulfill this goal by increasing: knowledge and understanding of legal and human rights … Read more
This summary of strategic directions is based on the report Hard Time: Promoting HIV and Hepatitis C Prevention Programming for Prisoners in Canada by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and Prisoners’ HIV/AIDS Support Action Network (PASAN).