Category: Opinions | CATIE Blog

HIV criminalization and the Canadian government’s failed law reform project: Another. Incredible. Disappointment. Surprise!

April 2, 2025 • By Chad Clarke with contributions from Colin Johnson

The Government of Canada has broken its promise to reform the laws that criminalize people living with HIV. In November 2024, the Federal Justice Minister’s office informed the Canadian Coalition to Reform HIV Criminalization (CCRHC) that the federal government’s long-promised initiative addressing the “overcriminalization” (their term) of HIV was not going to move forward. This announcement came after almost a decade of difficult work on the part of the HIV community. Blood, sweat and tears and some lives were lost while we worked on developing a workable consensus statement that would satisfy a majority of Parliament. The government squandered time,...

The Safer Municipalities Act: A misguided approach to public safety

March 26, 2025 • By Sean LaPrairie

The Safer Municipalities Act, introduced as Bill 242 by Premier Doug Ford on December 12, 2024, consists of two major legislative components that target Ontario’s homeless population and people who use drugs. The first part, the Restricting Public Consumption of Illegal Substances Act, creates new punishments for individuals consuming or “believed to be consuming” illegal substances in a public place. The second part of the Act amends the Trespass to Property Act, adding aggravating factors to be considered when sentencing for a trespassing offence, which can raise the severity of punishment. This Bill is framed as an effort to enhance...

HIV law reform: Chad Clarke and Colin Johnson discuss HIV decriminalization

July 2, 2024 • By Chad Clarke and Colin Johnson

Anger! Disappointment! Betrayal! Equivocation! Disquietude! These are the emotions that overwhelm Chad Edward Clarke on any given day, yet he remains committed to his cause: to change the way that the Canadian justice system has dealt with HIV non-disclosure through criminalization. Chad was recently awarded the first HIV is Not A Crime Leadership Award by the Canadian Coalition to Reform HIV Criminalization (CCHRC) and shares his story below with one of the coalition’s steering committee members, Colin Johnson. Colin Johnson: Chad, I know that you’ve told your story many times before, but it needs to be heard. Let’s start with...

Protecting ourselves, protecting each other: The current reality of GHB in the PnP scene and solutions to keep our friends alive

June 10, 2024 • By Jordan Bond-Gorr

Warning: this blog post describes a fatal overdose. This content will be upsetting to some of our readers. For support around grief and loss, please contact Healing Hearts Canada. Connor shouldn’t have died alone in his room. Left by his hookup, face down on his bed after passing out, he choked on his own vomit. His death was preventable: putting him in the recovery position and staying with him could have saved his life. Connor was the first in a series of recent deaths in Toronto’s party and play (PnP) scene attributed to GHB and its substitutes, GBL and...

CAHR 2023: Interview videos with leaders in Canada’s response to HIV

August 17, 2023 • By CATIE

Every year the Canadian Association for HIV Research (CAHR) organizes Canada’s leading HIV research conference, where researchers, service providers, people living with HIV, policy-makers and advocates come together to exchange knowledge, share their work and learn about advances in HIV research. CATIE attended CAHR 2023 in Quebec City to tap into the latest discussions and debates in Canada’s HIV response. Learn more about what people were saying at the conference in the videos below. Canada’s progress on its HIV targets CATIE caught up with leaders in Canada’s response to HIV and asked them how Canada performed on its 2020 targets...

What kind of effect does opioid use disorder medication have on opioid cravings?

April 25, 2023 • By Matthew Bonn

Buprenorphine with naloxone (also known as Suboxone) and methadone are two of the most widely used medications prescribed as opioid agonist therapy (OAT) to treat opioid use disorders in Canada. The aim of OAT is to replace the use of unregulated opioids with a safe and legal therapeutic medication that can prevent opioid cravings and withdrawal symptoms. This can in turn reduce the risk of overdose and other potential harms of opioid use disorder but it is not meant for everyone. In addition to these treatments, we also need greater access to safe supply, which is defined as a legal...