Since 2009, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network has organized a number of symposia on HIV, Law and Human Rights. The issue of criminalization of HIV non-disclosure has been and remains an ongoing issue of concern to people living with HIV, community organizations, service providers and human rights advocates; therefore, it has been the subject of … Read more
TORONTO, August 28, 2017 — The Government of Canada must take immediate steps to implement recommendations by the United Nations’ highest body for combatting racism calling for an end to punitive drug policies that disproportionately impact Black and Indigenous Peoples, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network said today. In its Concluding Observations on its review of … Read more
By Nicholas Caivano, Policy Analyst, and Richard Elliott, Executive Director, Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network June 29, 2017 As the world again marks the United Nation’s “International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking,” too many UN member states are still missing the point — namely, that drugs are primarily a health issue and not a … Read more
The public health and human rights rationale for prison-based needle and syringe programs Programs that ensure access to sterile injecting equipment are an important component of a comprehensive approach to reducing the vulnerability of prisoners to HIV and HCV infection.
June 21, 2017 Today, National Aboriginal Day, we recognize not only the cultures and contributions of First Nation, Inuit and Métis people in Canada, but also the resilience and strength of these communities. Many Indigenous Peoples have had to cope with traumatic life circumstances, including those related to experiences with the residential school and child … Read more
Highlights of our work in Canada and around the world from April 1, 2016, to March 31, 2017.
“We, the undersigned, write to you respecting the recent passage into law of Bill C-37, An Act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and to make related amendments to other Acts. As you well know, the intent of this law is to facilitate the scaling up of safer consumption services (SCS) across Canada, … Read more
“In Canada, people seeking permanent resident status or temporary residence as students or workers can be rejected on the basis of their HIV status due to the ‘excessive demand’ provision of Canada’s laws governing medical inadmissibility. “We recommend that the excessive demand provision be repealed, for the following reasons: The excessive demand provision is discriminatory. … Read more
TORONTO, May 15, 2017 — Today scientists, medical professionals, policy makers, activists and people who use drugs are gathering in Montréal for the 25th Harm Reduction International Conference 2017 (HR17). Meanwhile the opioid crisis rages on and, even as Canada takes an important step forward by legalizing and regulating cannabis, outdated prohibitionist drug policies continues to … Read more
Canada is in urgent need of comprehensive harm reduction policy that jettisons the failed, costly model of drug prohibition that has ravaged so many lives, from fueling the spread of HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV), to contributing to over-incarceration, to creating conditions for the ongoing epidemic of overdose fatalities. A harm reduction approach must … Read more