Health committee  That's the million-dollar question, right? It's hard to say one thing that would really address it, but I do think it needs to deal with factors at the individual level, such as around access to testing and access to treatment. We know that there are treatment gaps across the pro

Health committee  Definitely, when it comes to looking at this—I know the B.C. epidemic quite well, but I think it probably applies across Canada—we do see that the folks who are at those intersections or margins and who are falling through the cracks are also the people who have probably the grea

Health committee  David, either you or I can address this.

Health committee  Go ahead.

Health committee  I would just add that we can't lose sight of the fact that an HIV-positive result is different from a liver function test result, in terms of its implications. I think what you need to do is to try to find out how you strike that balance between really trying to make it as simple

Health committee  The service that we have is called GetCheckedOnline, which is an online testing service.

Health committee  As you can imagine, the testing service has to be integrated within labs. People have to submit specimens, so it is geographically bound, but it is a model that potentially could be used elsewhere. We have a CIHR research grant right now that's looking at the feasibility of the m

Health committee  Sure. I'll start the comments. I fully agree. The research has been quite clear that comprehensive sexual education that talks about all the nuances of gender identity and other aspects of sex and mental health is a benefit both to youth who are sexual, and gender minorities and

Health committee  I'm not aware of all the options around that. For example, I know there's been funding for SIECCAN to develop the comprehensive sexual health education guidelines that are being reviewed. I think there are ways the federal government is seeking that. I think it's important that k

Health committee  I certainly know of some community organizations or groups that are offering mental health services for sexual and gender minority people, so in that respect there are sort of tailored programs that are really acknowledging that cultural safety context or trauma people might have

Health committee  To your question, I think I would add that while criminalization of HIV non-disclosure obviously has profound implications for the individuals who are concerned, I think it has a much greater negative impact on society around perpetuation of HIV stigma. Every case gets reported i

Health committee  I don't have any evidence to back that up. I've heard anecdotal evidence or people saying that's a concern, but in terms of actual data, I don't know that. I think what's important when it comes to testing is to make sure that we have options where people can get anonymous test

Health committee  Anonymous testing is available in most places in Canada, as far as I know. I can't say for certain it's in every province, but historically it's been one of the first forms of testing that was introduced with HIV testing.

Health committee  I certainly don't support the criminalization of the non-disclosure of HIV. I think that largely has to do with stigma and is really unwarranted. Personally, I think there are mechanisms under public health law to deal with cases when someone is potentially transmitting HIV, ei

Health committee  I can't remember.