Mr. Speaker, HIV-AIDS is a global disease that knows no boundaries and affects all populations from all parts of the world. Men, women and children of all ages and socio-economic backgrounds can be impacted by HIV-AIDS.
The epidemic is most entrenched, however, among vulnerable populations, including aboriginal people. In fact, aboriginal people are among the most HIV vulnerable groups in Canada and are over-represented in this epidemic. Although they represented only 3.3% of the population in Canada, aboriginal persons comprised approximately 7.5% of the prevalent infections and 9% of new HIV infections in Canada in 2005. Injection drug use continues to be a key mode of HIV transmission in the aboriginal community. HIV-AIDS has a significant impact on aboriginal women. Aboriginal people are being infected with HIV at a younger age compared to non-aboriginal people. In 2005, the overall HIV infection rate among aboriginal persons was estimated to be 2.8 times higher than those of non-aboriginal persons.
These facts cry out for all concerned in government and health organizations. We need to take action.
Our government recognizes that HIV-AIDS in aboriginal communities remains an ongoing problem and we are taking action to deal with it.
The Government of Canada will invest more than $84 million toward HIV-AIDS in 2008-09, more than has ever been spent in our nation's history. These investments will support both the federal initiative to address HIV-AIDS in Canada and the Canadian HIV vaccine initiative, investments that will continue to grow over time.
Under our federal initiative, our government has identified HIV-AIDS in aboriginal communities as a key priority. Our government's federal initiative has two aboriginal specific funding programs supporting community effort. Hardly paternal, as was the allegation from the opposition.
The non-reserve first nation, Inuit and Métis communities HIV-AIDS project fund is working toward the reduction of HIV incidents and facilitates access to diagnosis, treatment and social support for aboriginal people living with HIV-AIDS in urban areas across Canada.
The specific populations HIV-AIDS initiative fund is addressing national policy and program priorities for people living with HIV-AIDS.
In addition, for first nations living on reserve and some Inuit communities, this fiscal year Health Canada is investing $5.8 million, representing an increase of $400,000 over the previous fiscal year.
The mandate of the on reserve HIV-AIDS program is to provide HIV-AIDS education, prevention and related health services to first nations on reserve and some Inuit communities. The overall goal of this program is to work in partnership with first nations and Inuit communities to prevent HIV-AIDS transmission and support the care of those impacted by HIV-AIDS.
And that is not all. In August 2006, Health Canada provided support to help plan and implement the international indigenous peoples satellite conference, an affiliated event of the 16th international AIDS conference.
We also provided support for the attendance of up to 51 on reserve first nations people living with HIV-AIDS.
We continue to support Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Week and the ongoing work of the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network, the Canadian Inuit HIV/AIDS Network, the National Aboriginal Committee on HIV/AIDS and other similar community level organizations. Hardly paternal, as was the previous government's approach.
As I mentioned earlier, HIV-AIDS knows no boundaries. HIV is having a significant impact on aboriginal women and aboriginal youth. Aboriginal people are being infected at a younger age than non-aboriginal people.
Almost half of the reported HIV cases among aboriginal people are among women. HIV infection appears to occur at a younger age in aboriginal women than the rest of the Canadian population, and young women under the age of 30 constitute a large proportion of the reported HIV-AIDS cases in the aboriginal community.
Under the federal initiative to address HIV-AIDS in Canada, youth have been identified as a priority. The Government of Canada supports national partner organizations such as the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network and the Assembly of First Nations.
Educational resources targeting women have been developed by our partner organizations. We are doing this to keep aboriginal families safe. This also means protecting the communities in which they live.
We know that certain factors such as poverty, sexually transmitted diseases, limited access to health services, and of course substance abuse, including injection drug use, have increased the vulnerability of many aboriginal Canadians to HIV. In fact, injection drug use has accounted for approximately half of AIDS cases in aboriginal peoples since 1998.
According to Dr. Evan Wood, a research scientist at the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, aboriginal drug users living in Vancouver's downtown eastside are contracting HIV-AIDS at twice the rate of non-aboriginal users. Dr. Wood's research shows that 18.5% of aboriginal men and women who inject cocaine and heroin become HIV positive. That compares with 9.5% of non-aboriginal intravenous drug users.
To adequately address this problem, it is critical that all levels of government work together to improve living conditions for aboriginal people living in the Vancouver downtown eastside. Under the Public Health Agency of Canada's non-reserve first nation, Inuit and Métis communities HIV and AIDS project fund, two projects have targeted this district specifically.
The first is the Vancouver Native Health Society's project, which aims to enhance sexual health, reduce drug use and create social support for those infected with HIV-AIDS. The second is the Western Aboriginal Harm Reduction Society, which also aims to enhance sexual health, reduce injection drug use and advance regional capacity building initiatives for non-reserve aboriginal community-based programing.
Nationally, our government is working to ensure that communities are safe, clean and of course drug free. This is done through our country's national anti-drug strategy. Last October, the Prime Minister of Canada announced the launch of the national anti-drug strategy, a strategy that places emphasis on educating Canadians, especially young people and their parents, about the negative effects of drug use.
An anti-drug strategy like this one has long been overdue in Canada. Our government is serious about implementing effective change to keep our communities safe from illegal drug use. We are concerned about the damage and pain these drugs cause families. We intend to reverse that trend.
This is why our government has committed to a strategy that will prevent illegal drug use from corrupting our youth, affecting our families and communities, and fueling organized crime and gangs. I am proud to say that we are delivering on our plan and achieving great results.
The Government of Canada is working hard to address HIV-AIDS in aboriginal populations across the country. We know that the issue continues to be a prominent one, one that requires a great deal of attention from governments at all levels.
Our government is delivering on its commitments to keep all Canadians safe and healthy no matter where they reside in Canada.
This also allows me an opportunity to reflect on the debate this evening. We have heard many different points of view. I would like to recognize the member for Vancouver East for bringing this to the floor of the House of Commons.
As we can see tonight, although there may be different points of view, we all agree that there is a problem and that we all have to work together to come to a solution. This is one of the great things that Canada brings to the table when it comes to solution seeking: the democratic process. That is what we have seen here tonight.
We have seen a debate of ideas. I know that the health minister is listening. I know that Canadians from coast to coast to coast who are watching this debate or who will read about it in Hansard will provide suggestions, and the government will listen and take action because that is the record of this government.
We need only look at the residential schools compensation, the hepatitis C compensation, the government's historic efforts to bring first nations people on reserve into the Human Rights Act, the tens of millions of dollars that have been invested in bringing clean water to first nations to improve their lives, and the hundreds of millions of dollars that are going to housing projects across the country.
But it will take a multi-party, multi-citizen and multi-government effort to empower individuals to make the best decisions for themselves. I know that this government looks forward to working with everyone to ensure that all people have the opportunity to be fulfilled as human beings and Canadians.
