Publications

We hope you’ll read our 2024-25 annual report — Securing Rights: Using Our Values to Meet the Moment — to find out more about the kind of positive change we’re making and get a glimpse of what we hope to accomplish in 2026.

It’s Not So Simple: The impact of simple drug possession and trafficking offences on health equity builds on research demonstrating the many harms resulting from laws and policies that punish people who use drugs by specifically examining the consequences of recent shifts in how police and prosecutors pursue and lay drug possession and trafficking charges. … Read more

In 2007, the HIV Legal Network (Legal Network) published Hard Time: HIV and Hepatitis C Prevention Programming for Prisoners in Canada, exploring health and harm reduction policies and practices in Canada’s provincial, territorial, and federal prisons. Then, as now, the Legal Network confirmed that everyone benefits from improved healthcare in prison, and that imprisonment is … Read more

Shelters are more than temporary accommodation. They are essential services. They represent a safe space and a lifeline for many — and especially people who use drugs, who are overrepresented among people who are homeless and grappling with Canada’s toxic drug crisis. Shelters often connect people to vital services that are otherwise out of reach, … Read more

kiskinohtahêw (s/he guides someone) proposing a legal remedies action plan to support and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in alignment with Canadian law This action plan outlines specific measures to ensure that Canada’s laws are consistent with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, based on … Read more

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

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.  

On November 18, 2024, the Ontario government tabled Bill 223, Safer Streets, Stronger Communities Act, 2024. While the bill amends several laws, of relevance to drug policy is Schedule 4 of the legislation, titled Community Care and Recovery Act, 2024. This Q&A explains what is entailed in this Act.

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