The creation of our annual report always gives us a unique opportunity to look back at a year’s worth of important work with hindsight, clarity, and pride. As you will see in Raising the Bar — our 2023/24 annual report — our successes and challenges don’t begin and end with the flip of a calendar … Read more
Across Canada, African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) people face state-sanctioned violence that is deeply rooted in the legacy of slavery and the enduring presence of anti-Black racism, which manifests in Canada’s drug laws. Black people are racially profiled and disproportionately criminalized and targeted by drug laws, which are themselves rooted in colonialism and the oppression … Read more
Drug policy in Canada is rooted in racism and colonialism, and Indigenous communities have experienced long histories of drug policy harms. Among Indigenous people living with HIV, transmissions are attributable to injection drug use at a much higher rate than for non-Indigenous populations, while Indigenous peoples have also suffered a disproportionate proportion of fatal overdoses … Read more
Over the years, the HIV Legal Network has participated in inquests exploring the growing number of drug poisoning deaths in Ontario jails. Following a 2020 inquest at the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Center involving the tragic drug poisoning deaths of two men, the jury made important and unprecedented recommendations to Ontario’s Ministry of the Solicitor General to … Read more
Drug policy affects the health of queer people and communities. The health of queer people who use drugs must not be overlooked in our fight for sensible drug policy. And 2SLGBTQ+ rights organizations must not ignore the rights and health of queer people who use drugs. Our new resources aim to raise awareness and build … Read more
This guide was prepared by the HIV Legal Network to answer some common questions about HIV disclosure and the criminal law in Canada. This guide gives you legal information, not legal advice — the difference between the two is important.
A human rights approach is essential to eliminating HCV as a public health threat, and capturing the social, cultural, economic, and other barriers to the enjoyment of rights, including the right to health. This approach also provides a mechanism to hold governments accountable to their human rights promises.
This brochure was prepared by the HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario (HALCO), HIV Legal Network, African Caribbean Council on HIV/ AIDS in Ontario (ACCHO), Africans in Partnership Against AIDS (APAA), and Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention (Black CAP). It will provide you with important information about the law in Canada. If you need legal advice, … Read more
In 2023, the federal Standing Committee on Health began a study on the ‘Opioid Epidemic and Toxic Drug Crisis’. The HIV Legal Network, together with the Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation, submitted a joint brief in 2024 detailing key legal determinants of health that have spurred the toxic drug crisis, focusing on the need for … Read more