Hon. René Cormier: Esteemed colleagues:

I came into this world with the HIV virus because the health care system failed to give my mother the preventive treatment that would have kept me from being infected when she needed it.

If he could talk, that is what the baby born with HIV last October at the CHU Saint-Justine in Montreal might say.

In an interview with Le Devoir on November 3 in relation to this shameful situation, Dr. Isabelle Boucoiran said that she is concerned about the fact that a growing number of HIV-positive migrant women are being referred to the health care system too late. She believes that a significant administrative burden is to blame.

[English]

On this World AIDS Day and Indigenous AIDS Awareness Week, I stand up once again to say that the inequalities that persist relentlessly impede progress to end this virus, and I decry once again the devastation this epidemic is causing — more than 40 years after it first appeared.

One more time, I affirm that HIV is not a virus of the past. The fact that it continues to contaminate our youth in a troubling way is proof that it is still present, and persists in anchoring itself in our societies.

Every day, colleagues, 1,100 young people between the ages of 15 and 24 are infected with HIV worldwide.

[Translation]

Most people who were diagnosed with HIV in Canada in 2020 were between the ages of 20 and 49. To be more specific, the rate of infection for the age category of 20 to 29 was 6.2 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants per year.

Honourable senators, what will it take for us to finally take the appropriate action to protect our youth? It is clear that the solution lies with community organizations that educate and provide local services to young people and all Canadians who are most at risk. These organizations are already working miracles with the few resources they have. It is time that they had access to the funding they have been waiting for far too long.

[English]

Colleagues, you will remember that exactly two years ago today, I tabled a motion in the Senate that was adopted the same day — thanks to all of you — urging the government to increase funding for the Federal Initiative to Address HIV/AIDS in Canada to $100 million annually — a recommendation also proposed by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health in 2019.

While applauding the recent efforts of the federal government, including the one-time funding for accessible testing and the historic increase in its contribution to The Global Fund, sustainable funding for community response here in Canada is still lacking, and inequities are growing.

[Translation]

Let me close by reminding you that UNAIDS and its member countries, including Canada, are committed to ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030. Eight years to eradicate this virus is not a long time, but I am hopeful.

Colleagues, the inequities that perpetuate the AIDS epidemic are not irreversible. We all have a role to play in addressing them. Let’s act together, now.

Thank you. Meegwetch