Unacceptable. Reprehensible. Strong words on Canada’s approach to HIV prevention from one of its own

Dr Julio Montaner, head of the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS is proud of what he and his Province have achieved in reducing HIV transmission rates through treatment as prevention strategies. It’s a trend he doesn’t see elsewhere in Canada, not that he hasn’t tried to make it happen.

“The public needs to get incensed” he said to me last week. “I‘ve been in the White House three times in the last three years. I‘ve seen Obama, I‘ve seen Clinton. In December1 last year the US said treatment as prevention is the way forward and they are going to be doing it domestically and internationally. And you know, I‘m honoured by it. But I‘m frustrated that my own country keeps on telling me – well, we are not so sure that we agree. Every time that I write to them I get a form letter saying thank you, we acknowledge we have received your correspondence. The Honourable Iona Aglukkaq (Minister of Health) doesn’t have time on her calendar, I wrote to Michaelle Jean, when she was the Governor-General she didn’t answer, I wrote to the Prime Minister – same answer.”

Continue Reading Part 1 >>

Update – Jan 25, 2012: Part 2 is now available >>

Scroll to Top

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