HIV & Criminal Law

This section contains information about criminal law, including:

  • HIV & Criminal Law
  • General Criminal Law Information
  • Pardons
  • Victims of Crime
  • Criminal Injuries Compensation Board

Please scroll down for information about Getting Legal Help.

Current Criminalization of HIV Issues

Please visit our What’s New section for information about current criminalization of HIV issues, including:

  • Appeals being heard at the Supreme Court on February 8, 2012
  • Call for signatories: Stop the Criminalization of People Living with HIV
  • Toronto Day of Action Against the Criminalization of HIV on February 6, 2012
  • Criminal Sex? Women, HIV and the Injustice of the Law event in Ottawa on February 6, 2012

HIV & Criminal Law

In Canada, there is a criminal law duty to disclose your HIV status to another person before engaging in behaviours that pose a significant risk of HIV transmission.  People living with HIV have been convicted of serious criminal offences, including aggravated sexual assault, and sentenced to significant time in prison for failing to disclose their HIV status.

The criminal law in relation to HIV non-disclosure is extremely complex and rapidly evolving.

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. While we do not practice criminal law, we can provide information and referrals to defence counsel who are expert in this area. We work with criminal lawyers that handle HIV-related matters.

The current application of the criminal law in relation to HIV non-disclosure is inconsistent and unfair, and is an extremely pressing issue facing people living with HIV in Canada.  Unfortunately, Ontario is home to the majority of HIV-related prosecutions in Canada, and is also one of the leading jurisdictions in the world when it comes to such prosecutions. HALCO is very involved in opposing the current use of the criminal law in relation to HIV non-disclosure.  We provide legal information and referrals to individuals, as well as presentations to interested groups.

In addition, HALCO’s Executive Director is the co-chair of the Ontario Working Group on Criminal Law and HIV Exposure (CLHE).  CLHE came together in 2007 to oppose the current use of the criminal in relation to HIV non-disclosure, and, to attempt to bring fairness and consistency to the law.  People living with HIV, lawyers, activists, academics, and AIDS service organization staff are involved with CLHE.  For information about Ontario Working Group on Criminal Law and HIV Exposure (CLHE), please visit: www.ontarioaidsnetwork.on.ca/clhe.

The CLHE Consultation on Prosecutorial Guidelines for Ontario Cases Involving Non-disclosure of Sexually Transmitted Infections: Community Report and Recommendations to the Attorney General of Ontario (June 2011) is available on our website:  www.halco.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/CHLE_guidelines_report_2011.pdf

For more information, please see the Criminal Law & HIV Non-Disclosure article on page 11 of our HALCO news Fall 2011 edition.

HIV Non-Disclosure and the Criminal Law: Establishing Policy Options for Ontario (August 2011) provides a comprehensive discussion of the criminalization of HIV non-disclosure in Canada and is available on the Ontario HIV Treatment Network (OHTN) website:  www.ohtn.on.ca/Documents/Publications/HIV%20non-disclosure%20and%20the%20criminal%20law.pdf

The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network website includes many resources including:

General Criminal Law Information

Government of Canada

The Government of Canada website has information about Canada’s system of justice: www.justice.gc.ca/eng/dept-min/pub/just/

Government of Ontario

The Government of Ontario website has general information about criminal law in Ontario: www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/justice-ont/criminal_law.asp

Legal Aid Ontario

The Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) website has information about criminal law and legal aid in Ontario:  www.legalaid.on.ca/en/getting/type_criminal.asp

Pardons

To be eligible to apply for a pardon, a person who was convicted of a criminal offence has to have completed their sentence and demonstrated ‘law-abiding behaviour’ over a specific period of time. A pardon does not erase the criminal record, but information about the criminal conviction is taken out of the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) and may not be disclosed without permission from the Minister of Public Safety Canada.

On February 2, 2011, federal Public Safety Minister Vic Toews proposed that the pardon application fee be increased from the current $150 to $631. According to government materials, the proposed fee increase will mean that the person applying for the pardon pays the full costs of processing the pardon application.

The Parole Board of Canada [http://pbc-clcc.gc.ca/index-eng.shtml] held consultations on the proposal from February 10 to 27, 2011. You can find more information about the consultation in the consultation report and discussion paper:

The pardon application fee was previously increased from $50 to $150 on December 29, 2010, which was the first fee increase since the fee was introduced about 16 years ago.

If you are currently eligible for a pardon, we suggest that you consider applying soon to avoid any future increase in the pardon application fee. The Parole Board of Canada website makes clear that you do not need a lawyer or representative to apply for a pardon.

You can find more pardon information and the pardon application on the Parole Board of Canada website:  pbc-clcc.gc.ca/infocntr/factsh/pardon-eng.shtml

Victims of Crime

Please see Family/Domestic Violence in our Family Law section and  Victims of Crime in our Others Areas of Law section for information for victims of crime.

Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (CICB)

Please see the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (CICB) in our Other Areas of Law section for information.

Getting legal help

If you are living with HIV and have questions about criminal law, or if you have been charged with an HIV-related crime, please contact us.

You can also contact Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) for criminal law information and assistance. LAO provides many programs and services to help low-income people with legal issues. You must be financially eligible to qualify for most legal aid services.  You can find information about criminal law and legal aid in Ontario on the Legal Aid Ontario website: www.legalaid.on.ca/en/getting/type_criminal.asp

You can contact the Ontario Lawyer Referral Service for a referral to a lawyer for up to 30 minutes of free legal advice: www.lsuc.on.ca/with.aspx?id=654