Publication Language: French

Brief to HoC Standing Committee on IRB appointment training and complaint process

“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.”

TIME TO ACT ON HARM REDUCTION PROMISES: Open Letter to the Liberal Party of Canada

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

Statement: It is time to end Canada’s excessive demand regime

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.

Brief to the Standing Committee on the Status of Women: The need for drug policy reform and comprehensive prison-based harm reduction

The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, Prisoners with HIV/AIDS Support Action Network, CATIE and the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network work to promote the human rights of people living with, at risk of or affected by HIV and hepatitis C (HCV), including Indigenous women in prison. We appreciate the opportunity to make this submission on Indigenous women … Read more

Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act Wallet Cards now available

With Canada’s fatal overdose crisis still surging, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, in collaboration with the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council, issued 50,000 wallet-size cards with vital information about the 2017 Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act. The cards and an accompanying fact sheet were provided to people who use drugs, service providers and volunteer organizations … Read more

See an overdose? Call 911 immediately

With Canada’s fatal overdose crisis still surging, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, in collaboration with the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council, issued 50,000 wallet-size cards with vital information about the 2017 Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act. The cards and an accompanying fact sheet were provided to people who use drugs, service providers and volunteer organizations … Read more

An important, modest advance on World AIDS Day

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