World AIDS Day 2016 in Ottawa: a personal account of a momentous and moving occasion

published on December 6, 2016 by Guest Authors - Revolving Door, in Positive Lite

Guest author Gord Asmus sees history in the making as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau raises the Red Ribbon flag on Parliament Hill on WAD 2016

History was made on Dec 1, 2016 as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau raised the Red Ribbon flag on Parliament Hill for the first time.

This story begins in Nov 2015. At that time I was in the position of Past Board Chair” of the AIDS Committee of Ottawa (ACO). Khaled Salam, ACO’s Executive Director, had convinced City Hall and our Mayor, Jim Watson, that the Red Ribbon Flag should be raised at City Hall. This did come to pass on Dec 1 2015.

Also, on that day ACO took part in the first annual Ottawa chapter of the Red Scarf Project. Our newly elected Federal Minister of Health, Dr. Jane Philpott dropped by ACO’s drop in centre (The Living Room) and the local CBC news broadcast live during her visit. Khaled said to me at that time “This is only the beginning. Next year this flag needs to be raised on Parliament Hill and raised by our Prime Minister”. Well, a year later, that is exactly what has happened.

Justin Trudeau’s participation in this event was only confirmed 48 hours previously. Although it was quite cool and at times a light drizzle was falling, a sizeable crowd, including politicians from all levels of Government, were present on the Hill to witness this historic event.

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Julio Montaner

BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS

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World AIDS Day 2016 in Ottawa: a personal account of a momentous and moving occasion

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