Publication Topic : Access to Medicines
Submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Review of Canada at 32nd Session (March 3-21, 2025)
The HIV Legal Network (“Legal Network”) made this submission to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (“Committee”) in advance of its review of Canada’s periodic report, detailing our concerns about Canada’s implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (“Convention”) with respect to the rights of people living with … Read more
HARD TIME PERSISTS: HEALTHCARE AND HARM REDUCTION FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE IN PRISON
Indigenous people in Canada have long been subjected to mass incarceration, due to the enduring legacy of colonialism and ongoing racism. In 2023, Indigenous people represented 32% of the federal prison population, while making up just 5% of the total adult population. In fact, the increasing incarceration of Indigenous women has resulted in Indigenous women … Read more
FACTUM OF THE INTERVENERS-HIV LEGAL NETWORK and HIV & AIDS LEGAL CLINIC ONTARIO
The HIV Legal Network and HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario (“HIV Coalition”) intervene jointly in this case to address the direct, deadly, and disproportionately adverse impact of ss. 2 and 3 of the Community Care and Recovery Act, 2024, S.O. 2024, c. 27, Sch. 2 (“impugned provisions”) on the rights of diverse communities of … Read more
HARD TIME PERSISTS: HEALTHCARE AND HARM REDUCTION IN IMMIGRATION DETENTION
Everyone — including people who have been detained — has a right to the highest attainable standard of health and to healthcare that is at least equivalent to that which is available in the community, whatever their immigration status. The current system — which allows for indefinite and punitive detention without comprehensive oversight — fails … Read more
HIV Legal Network Submission (January 2025) – Safer Municipalities Act, 2024 — Restricting Public Consumption of Illegal Substances Act, 2024
The HIV Legal Network urges the Ontario government to withdraw the Safer Municipalities Act, which will do nothing to address the crisis of homelessness and drug toxicity deaths in the province, and only further harm people who use drugs, particularly those who are unhoused.
Know Your Rights: Accessing healthcare without permanent residence or citizenship in Canada
The right to healthcare is not consistently extended to people who do not have Canadian citizenship or permanent residence. In other words, access to healthcare is often restricted for individuals in the country who have only temporary immigration status or no immigration status. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to health has called … Read more
Canada Must Take a Human Rights-Based Approach to HIV Self-Testing
On International Testing Week, more than 40 organizations from across Canada sign statement of support This statement can be attributed to the HIV Legal Network, HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario and the Canadian AIDS Society. Toronto, ON (November 23, 2023) – Today, more than 40 health and human rights organizations across the country have … Read more