Ontario: people can now apply for forced HIV testing in certain situations.

Ontario has finally issued a regulation to accompany its controversial "blood samples" legislation, passed in 2001. As a result, in certain circumstances, a person in Ontario can now seek an order to require another person to be tested for HIV, hepatitis B (HBV), and hepatitis C (HCV). However, the regulation contains a number of restrictions on the ability to apply for such an order.

New Ontarians With Disabilities Act finally adopted.

After several false starts, Ontario has passed legislation designed to remove barriers faced by disabled persons, including the barrier of stigma.

Ontario adopts "blood samples" legislation.

Under the new legislation, a Medical Officer of Health can order blood testing when victims of crime, emergency service workers, "good Samaritans," and others have reason to believe that they may have been exposed to a communicable disease.

Class orders now possible under Ontario's public health legislation.

In April 2003, the Ontario Legislature amended the province's public health legislation as part of a package of amendments related to the recent outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Although the amendments to the Health Protection and Promotion Act (HPPA) were clearly designed to address emergency situations like SARS, they may have unintended and negative consequences for people living with HIV/AIDS.

Recent developments in privacy legislation.

In this article, Ruth Carey takes a critical look at recent privacy-of-personal-information legislation drafted in three Canadian provinces--Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia. The article begins with a historical overview of international legal instruments and other privacy guidelines, and the Canadian experience with privacy protection. It then critically analyzes the provincial initiatives in the context of the federal Personal Information Protection and and Electronic Documents Act and accepted privacy principles.

BC Court of Appeal refuses to reduce sentence for HIV-positive prisoner.

On 9 May 2002, the BC Court of Appeal released its decision in a prisoner's sentencing appeal where the Crown and the defence agreed that the original sentence was illegal, and differed in their positions as to the appropriate sentence by only one day. That one day meant the difference between serving the sentence in a provincial jail as opposed to a federal penitentiary.

Vancouver Island Compassion Club president receives absolute discharge.

On 5 July 2002, the BC Provincial Court released written reasons for sentencing in R v Lucas. The president of the Vancouver Island Compassion Club had been arrested and charged with possession for the purpose of tracking after police searched the club and his home and seized less than three kilograms of marijuana.

Supreme Court denies leave to appeal in medical marijuana charter challenge.

As previously reported in this publication, in January 2002 the Ontario Court of Appeal denied Jim Wakeford's claim that Canada's laws prohibiting marijuana possession and cultivation infringe his constitutional rights to liberty and security of the person. On 22 November 2002 the Supreme Court of Canada announced that it would not hear his appeal from that decision.

Discrimination in same-sex survivor amendments to the Canada Pension Plan.

On 31 July 2002, the British Columbia Supreme Court granted certification of a class proceeding involving same-sex surviving spouses who were denied survivor's benefits under the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) due to their sexual orientation. On 10 July 2002, a similar proceeding in Ontario survived a motion to strike by the government and is headed to trial. If successful, thousands of gay men and women whose same-sex partners died between 17 April 1985 and 1 January 1998 may finally be eligible for monthly survivor's benefits.