It’s time for Toronto to step up: Let’s become a UNAIDS Fast-Track City

The past few years have been a rollercoaster for those of us most impacted by HIV. The use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) by people who are HIV-negative has gone from being discredited and shamed to become one of the keystones of a renewed and revitalized push to “end the HIV epidemic”. The other life-changing piece of research is the landmark PARTNER study that showed us, once and for all, that the sexual transmission of HIV does not occur in people whose viral loads are undetectable. The joyous global uptake of the U=U message has been nothing short of inspirational.

Effective modern treatment and PrEP have changed how we can now think of HIV, and how we can think about our lives. We can now imagine a world where people with HIV live long, healthy lives and HIV transmission is a rare event. We can imagine sex as something that unifies us, rather than divides us along serostatus lines. We can imagine a time for healing. If there is anything that could mitigate the devastation of the early years of the AIDS epidemic, it might be a community-led push to end the epidemic within the next decade.

This may sound like an HIV prevention initiative. And it is. But the use of treatment as prevention sends out a powerful message about people living with HIV. It is an antidote to the stigma, shame and fear that has accompanied us. It announces new, previously unthinkable possibilities in our social and sexual relationships. It gives us more initiative to start treatment and stay adherent. These are the reasons, as an HIV-positive woman, that I agreed to become the co-chair of Toronto’s Fast-Track City Initiative.

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During the Canada Post strike announced September 25, 2025, the following measures will be undertaken to minimize service disruption to BC-CfE clients and providers.

  • The BC-CfE Laboratory has transitioned to private courier for delivery of outgoing reports and documents. Results required urgently can be faxed upon request. (Lab Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8775; FAX 604-806-9463)
  • The BC-CfE Drug Treatment Program (DTP) will fax outgoing forms and documents to the provider’s office. (DTP Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8515; FAX 604-806-9044)
  • St. Paul’s Hospital Ambulatory Pharmacy has transitioned to private courier for delivery of medications. We recommend requesting medication at least 2 weeks in advance in case of delivery delays, particularly to rural/remote parts of BC. (Contact Information: Phone 1-800-547-3622; FAX 604-806-8675)

During the Canada Post strike, we recommend that documents be faxed or couriered to our sites, versus utilization of regular mail service

The BC-CfE Laboratory is streamlining reporting processes for certain tests in order to simplify distribution and record-keeping, and to ensure completeness of results. Beginning September 2, 2025, results for the ‘Resistance Analysis of HIV-1 Protease and Reverse Transcriptase’ (Protease-RT) and ‘HIV-1 Integrase Resistance Genotype’ tests will be combined into a single ‘HIV-1 Resistance Genotype Report’.
For more details and example reports, please click on the button below