Mr. Speaker, I want to flag some disconcerting data regarding HIV/AIDS with my colleagues. The goal of ending AIDS as an epidemic globally by 2030 has gone off track. In poor nations, it is now increasing, partly due to U.S. funding cuts.
What is alarming is the 35% rise in new cases in Canada this year, especially in Saskatchewan, in Manitoba and among first nations. This is the result of poor tracking, cuts in funding for prevention and treatment, and the myth that HIV is no longer a problem.
Antiretroviral therapy combined with pre-exposure prophylaxis is a successful, made-in-Canada solution, but we need to move it forward. It was tried in B.C. with no new cases for decades. We need to introduce it now in provincial formularies and in the national pharmacare program. We will see an end to the AIDS epidemic by 2030 if we do that.