“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 “We recommend that the excessive demand provision be repealed, for the following reasons: The excessive demand provision is discriminatory.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the opioid crisis rages on and, even as Canada takes an important step forward by legalizing and regulating cannabis, outdated prohibitionist drug policies continues to … Read more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
This resource explains the important role of privacy and confidentiality in reducing stigma and discrimination related to STBBIs, and offers frontline health and social service providers several strategies they can use to deal with issues related to privacy, confidentiality, the criminalization of HIV non-disclosure and stigma reduction.
This report synthesizes resources that jointly consider Indigenous women, HIV and gender-based violence and relevant recommendations for law reform.
“For the reasons we have noted, we urge you to oppose and remove the Senate committee’s three amendments to Bill C-37, as they are contrary to the spirit and purpose of the bill, creating unnecessary mechanisms for delay in determinations regarding exemptions for SCS [safer consumption services] and reflecting an ongoing stigmatization surrounding people who … Read more
Earlier this year, the Legal Network, HALCO and PASAN produced a poster for people in prison to address common myths about HIV transmission. The poster will be posted in the Admitting and Discharge Area of all provincial correctional institutions in Ontario and in the program rooms on the ranges at Toronto South Detention Centre.
This fact sheet discusses common questions regarding sex offender registries in Canada in the context of the criminal law and HIV non-disclosure. This is general legal information and not legal advice. If you want legal advice specific to your situation, you should talk to a lawyer.
In Canada, Indigenous people experience higher rates of injection drug use and less access to health care than non-Indigenous people. For many Indigenous people, drug use offers a means of coping with traumatic life circumstances, including those related to their experiences with the residential school and child welfare systems in Canada, legacies of colonialism and … Read more