From April 2017 to May 2020, with the support of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, a pilot project of social and legal support for people who inject drugs was carried out in St. Petersburg in order to improve health outcomes, specifically along the HIV testing, treatment, and care cascade. The results of the project are … Read more
A joint submission to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights by the HIV Legal Network and the Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation, focusing on human rights violations against people in Canada of African descent, in the context of Canada’s drug laws and policies. “For the period 2014 to 2019, police in … Read more
This guide is an evidence-based resource to assist journalists in Canada in reporting responsibly and accurately about alleged HIV non-disclosure and resulting criminal cases. People living with HIV in Canada can be prosecuted for “aggravated sexual assault” (one of the most serious charges in the Criminal Code) if they don’t tell their sexual partners, in … Read more
We are grateful to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention for the opportunity to make this submission, and respond below to questions relevant to Canada in the Working Group’s questionnaire, to the extent that requested data is available in Canada.
This brief is submitted to the Minister of Health and members of the Canadian delegation to the 63rd session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) by the Canadian Civil Society Working Group on UN Drug Policy (see Appendix). The Working Group was originally established in preparation for the 2016 UNGASS. Since this event, … Read more
Acknowledging the health benefits of needle and syringe programs in prison, the Correctional Service Canada (CSC) announced on May 14th, 2018, that it would implement a prison needle exchange program (PNEP) at two federal institutions in June 2018 as “the initial stage of a phased approach to strengthen its ongoing efforts to prevent and manage infectious disease in federal … Read more
This document provides an overview of the current laws and policies governing HIV non-disclosure in Canada. Sections include: A legal obligation to disclose HIV-positive status to a sexual partner in some circumstances What does “realistic possibility” of transmission mean? When is there no legal obligation to disclose? Recent developments in law and policy Federal and … Read more
On April 30, 2019, the Legal Network submitted this brief to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, examining the current state of HIV criminalization in Canada and making recommendations to improve the situation.
The Legal Network has submitted this brief to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health, addressing HIV criminalization, criminalization of sex work, and criminalization of drug possession for personal use.
Prepared for the 62nd session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs and its High-Level Ministerial Segment Canadian Civil Society Working Group on UN Drug Policy January 21, 2019 The High-Level Ministerial Segment of the 62nd Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) in Vienna on March 14th and 15th is the next significant meeting of UN … Read more