Hon. René Cormier: My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. Senator Gold, on December 1, 2020, I moved a motion in this chamber that was adopted that very day. It called on the Government of Canada to increase the total funding for the Federal Initiative to Address HIV/AIDS to $100 million annually. The fact of the matter is that this funding is yet to materialize, or so reports a consortium of community and human rights advocacy organizations, including the HIV Legal Network and the Canadian AIDS Society. Unfortunately, in the meantime we have seen an increase in cases of HIV infection in Canada over the past few years.

Senator Gold, on the eve of the International AIDS Conference, which is being held in Montreal at the end of July, Canada being the host country this year, will the Canadian government finally commit to increasing the funding for the fight against HIV/AIDS to $100 million a year and when will it do so?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question, senator. The Government of Canada is proud that Canada is hosting the 24th International AIDS Conference, which, as you mentioned, is being held in Montreal from July 29 to August 2, 2022. The government remains firmly committed to end the AIDS endemic by 2030 and to support Canadians living with this disease. I am told that the government is investing $87 million annually to fight HIV and other sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections. The government is also providing $30 million to the Harm Reduction Fund to help prevent and control HIV and hepatitis C. The government continues to work closely with community groups and people with lived experience.

Senator Cormier: Thank you for your response, Senator Gold. Many organizations are calling on the Canadian government to increase its contribution to the Global Fund, which finances initiatives to fight HIV, tuberculosis and malaria around the world. Will Canada use its leadership as host of the International AIDS Conference to increase its contribution to this important fund, especially considering that AIDS is so prevalent in the world and continues to wreak havoc?