Category: Opinions | Page 2

Sex, scandal and scapegoats: Canada’s blood donation policy for sex workers

December 5, 2022 • By Andrew Sorfleet

On May 27, 2022, Canadian Blood Services—the non-profit that manages Canada’s blood supply outside of Quebec—announced that the lifetime ban on blood donation for those who have traded sex for money would be reduced to one year pending approval from Health Canada. Their questionnaire has recently been updated to reflect this decision. They claim current evidence and available testing technology do not support the lifetime ban policy. This policy review came on the heels of outrage and criticism on Twitter in late 2021 by sex workers who had faced discrimination when trying to donate blood. Addressing discrimination on the basis...

Hepatitis can’t wait: Accessible hepatitis C treatment inside provincial correctional institutions in Canada

July 21, 2022 • By Olivia Gemma

At PASAN, we serve people with lived and living experience of incarceration and drug use. Many of our clients have been diagnosed with hepatitis C during their intake at a correctional institution. M

AIDS 2022 in Montreal: Will Canada’s HIV response hold up against scrutiny?

June 8, 2022 • By Laurie Edmiston

In a few weeks, the world is invited to Montreal for AIDS 2022, the 24th International AIDS Conference. At this time of writing, no public announcement has been made as to which of Canada’s dignitaries will be present. The last time this conference was held in Canada was 2006, in Toronto. The absence of our then prime minister, as well as the previous federal government’s abysmal record on HIV policy issues such as harm reduction, became an embarrassment for Canada on an international stage.

Chemsex, PnP, crystal meth: What does harm reduction really look like?

April 26, 2022 • By Jonathan Bacon and Jean-Sébastien Rousseau

For a few years now, our team at Clinique médicale l’Actuel has noticed an increase in patients using crystal meth. At the start of the pandemic, to address our patients’ distress and increased substance use, we secured private funding to set up a support program for our patients who use crystal meth and practise chemsex, also called PnP or party ‘n play. We also convinced the Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services to carry out a pilot project with this population at the clinic.

Parenting, substance use and the child welfare system: Sharing lived experiences and providing support

April 26, 2022 • By Cassandra Smith

Cassandra Smith is Black CAP’s harm reduction specialist. CATIE recently spoke with Cassandra about how her lived experiences as a community member and parent have informed her harm reduction work, and how harm reduction programs and services can meet the needs of racialized parents who use substances.

Beyond “vax-hesitance”: The social determinants of COVID-19 vaccination

November 9, 2021 • By Shriya Hari

COVID-19 vaccines are powerful tools in the fight against COVID-19 and have been crucial in combatting the latest wave. Vaccination reduces the likelihood of spread and also reduces the likelihood of serious illness with COVID-19 if a person gets infected.