Liberal MP Randy Boissonnault said the public-health system is the place to manage people with infectious diseases, not the justice system.Liberal MP Randy Boissonnault, the Prime Minister’s special adviser on LGBTQ issues, says the government needs to stop prosecuting people for failing to disclose their HIV status to sexual partners.
He noted that under the current criminal law, someone can be charged for HIV non-disclosure even if they have a suppressed viral load – meaning the HIV is undetectable – or use a condom. Rachel Rappaport, the press secretary for Mr. Lametti, said in an e-mailed statement that the government issued a federal directive in 2018 limiting the prosecution of HIV non-disclosure to cases in which there was a realistic possibility of transmission, in response to the obstacles that broad criminalization creates to Canadians getting tested and seeking treatment. Ms. Rappaport said the minister’s office will review the justice committee’s report before commenting further.
Karen Segal, a lawyer for the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund, said HIV non-disclosure should only be criminally prosecuted when there is actual transmission, and when a person acts recklessly in transmitting the virus. She said recklessness is a more appropriate criminal standard than intentional transmission because it is easier to prove, given the methods available to prevent transmission – such as contraception or anti-viral medication.
globepolitics Why? If you are a person without HIV or Aids, and you ask proposed partner and they deny, they should be prosecuted.
globepolitics 'Liberal MP Randy Boissonnault, the Prime Minister’s special adviser on LGBTQ issues, says the government needs to stop prosecuting people for failing to disclose their HIV status to sexual partners.' WTF ?!? Why would he want to make it legal to unknowingly infect people?