On behalf of the Ontario Working Group on Criminal Law and HIV Exposure (CLHE), we ask you (individuals and organizations) to tell John Gerretsen, Ontario’s Attorney General, to stop illegal and unjust criminal prosecutions against people living with HIV in Ontario, and to re-open the dialogue with the community.
We ask you to send Ontario’s Attorney General an email requesting that he immediately:
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instruct Crown prosecutors to stop prosecuting people living with HIV where there is no “significant risk” of HIV transmission;
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put all prosecutions “on hold” until the Supreme Court releases its decision in two upcoming cases (expected in the fall); and
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meet with community-based CLHE to discuss when and how he will fulfill the previous Attorney General’s promise to put in place guidelines for Crown prosecutors working on HIV non-disclosure cases.
You can send Mr. Gerretsen an email by completing the on-line form, at http://clhe.ca. Please take 5 minutes today to support fairness and justice for people living with HIV.
For more information about the criminalization of HIV non-disclosure and the Campaign for Prosecutorial Guidelines, please visit:
- CLHE (http://clhe.ca)
- Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network (www.aidslaw.ca/site/publicationtopics/criminal-law/)
- AIDS Action Now! (www.aidsactionnow.org/)
- HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario (HALCO) (www.halco.org/areas-of-law/hiv-criminal-law)
If you are living with HIV and have questions about criminal law and HIV, or if you have been charged with an HIV-related crime, please contact us (HALCO). While HALCO staff do not practice criminal law, we can provide information and referrals to defence counsel who have expertise in this area. We work with criminal lawyers who handle HIV-related matters.