CEDAW/C/CAN/CO/8-9 for non-disclosing their HIV status to sexual partners, even when the transmission is not intentional, when there is no transmission or when the risk of transmission is minimal. 43. The Committee recommends that the State party limit the application of criminal law provisions to cases of intentional transmission of HIV/AIDS, as recommended by international public health standards. 44. The Committee welcomes the commitment of the State party to review its drug policy with a view to shifting from a criminal to a public health and harm reduction approach. However, the Committee is concerned about the excessive use of incarceration as a drug-control measure against women and the ensuing female over-population in prison. The Committee is also concerned about the significant legislative and administrative barriers women face to access supervised consumption services, especially in light of the ongoing nation-wide opioid overdose crisis. 45. The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Define harm reduction as a key element of its federal strategy on drugs, and reduce the gap in health service delivery related to women’s drug use, by scaling-up and ensuring access to culturally appropriate harm reduction services; (b) Repeal the Respect for Communities Act and establish a transparent process for exemptions permitting the operation of supervised consumption services without risk of criminal prosecution of clients or service providers; (c) Repeal mandatory minimum sentences for minor, non-violent drugrelated offences; (d) Take measures to prevent overdose deaths across the State party, including by exempting from arrest drug users who, when facing an overdose, call 911 to get assistance. Economic empowerment of women 46. The Committee notes the development of a National Poverty Reduction Strategy and a National Housing Strategy by the State party. However, it is concerned that women continue to experience significant levels of poverty, homelessness and hunger in the State party, especially First Nations women, Afro-Canadian women, Inuit and metis women, women of immigrant origin, women with disabilities, elderly women, and single mothers. It is also concerned at the lack of affordable quality childcare, the current severe housing shortage, in particular in aboriginal communities, and the high costs of rent and the impact thereof on women, especially low-income women with families. 47. The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Ensure that the National Poverty Reduction Strategy and the National Housing Strategy protect the rights of all women, with a focus on the most disadvantaged and vulnerable groups, by integrating a human rights and genderbased approach; (b) Actively engage First Nations women in water systems management and regulation on reserves in order to assist populations that are at risk from poor water and sanitation conditions; (c) Increase the amounts of transfer payments to provinces and territories, earmark sufficient funds specifically for social assistance, and make transfer payments to provinces and territories conditional on setting their social assistance rates at levels that are sufficient to ensure an adequate standard of living, and prevent discriminatory effects of inadequate incomes for women; 14