Publications

The expected escalation of the Russian government’s crackdown of civil society poses a fundamental challenge. The new amendments to the so-called Foreign Agents Law (FA Law) have created new threats and vulnerabilities for civil society organisations (CSOs) as well as active citizens. Since its introduction in 2012, this law has targeted independent Russian CSOs, including … Read more

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

Funding the Fight: Supporting and Sustaining the Federal Response to HIV and AIDS in Canada Pre-budget Consultations 2021 Submission by the HIV Legal Network February 19, 2021 The current COVID-19 pandemic illustrates starkly, yet again, the critical importance of both investing in public health and of respecting, protecting and fulfilling human rights in order to … 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

The HIV Legal Network wishes to express our support for Mayor Stewart’s motion to direct “the City of Vancouver to write to the federal Ministers of Health, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, and Justice and Attorney General to request a federal exemption from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to decriminalize personal possession of illicit … Read more

From the launch of the Federal Initiative in 2004–05 through the end of the 2017–18 fiscal year, more than $123 million in total has been diverted or withheld from committed HIV funding. Services and organizations have either closed or have discontinued some programs, despite the clear need. Community organizations across the country have called for an adequately funded federal HIV … Read more

As the COVID-19 pandemic and the overdose crisis sweep across Canada, all policymakers have an obligation to adopt evidence-based measures that uphold the health and safety of people who use drugs. This includes municipal and provincial governments, who can take immediate steps to minimize the harms of current drug laws by decriminalizing drug possession for … Read more

This written submission complements comments made previously during our participation in two community consultation sessions. In it, we wish to expand upon our overarching submission that the unjustified criminalization of specific populations, and the role of police in enforcing such criminalization, have understandably impeded, and will continue to impede, relationships of trust and cooperation between those communities and police. In … Read more

Sent by email to Office of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, Controlled Substances Directorate, Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch, Health Canada. Since the HIV Legal Network’s inception, the organization has advocated for drug policies that respect, protect, and fulfill the human rights of people who use drugs, including through effective, equitable access to harm reduction services. We are pleased to … Read more

In 2017, the Canadian government passed the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act, a law meant to provide certain legal protections for people who witness an overdose in Canada and call 911 for emergency assistance. Janet Butler-McPhee and Sandra Ka Hon Chu of the HIV Legal Network partnered with Emily van der Meulen at Ryerson University on a new research … Read more