The following letter and questions were submitted to party leaders on April 8, 2011.

Dear Mr./Ms. Harper/Ignatieff/Layton/Duceppe/May,

The Interagency Coalition on AIDS and Development (ICAD) is a coalition of over 80 organizations and individuals whose mission is to provide leadership in the response of Canadian international development organizations and Canadian HIV organizations in reducing the impact of the global HIV and AIDS epidemic. ICAD does this through improving public policy, providing information and analysis, and sharing lessons learned.

ICAD and its members have developed the following questions to be put to party leaders in this election. The questions reflect issues of current importance to our members across Canada, many of whom work in developing countries. We appreciate the time taken to respond to these questions. Please send your responses to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 613-233-7440 ext 113 if you have any queries.

International development, including HIV and AIDS

1. Do you support un-freezing Canada’s aid budget and increasing our foreign aid to reach the United Nations target of 0.7% of Gross National Income within 10 years?
   
2. If elected, what would you and your party do to ensure that Canada met its commitment to reach the ODA target of 0.7% of GNI?
   
3. If elected, what would you and your party do to ensure that the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria had sufficient funding to meet the demand expressed in technically sound proposals submitted by implementing countries?
   
4. If elected, how would your party support Canadian NGOs to carry out programs in developing countries? Would you respect the work of well-established and successful Canadian NGOs?
   
5. If elected, what would your party do to renew the focus on foreign aid partnerships in Africa?
   
6. If elected, will you and your party ask CIDA to incorporate TB-HIV co-infection as part of its larger aid effectiveness agenda?
   
7. A tiny tax on currency and other financial transactions (a Financial Transactions Tax or FTT) could easily raise hundreds of billions of dollars annually to support and strengthen the response to poverty and climate change both domestically and abroad. France, the UK and other European countries support an FTT. If elected, what would you and your party do to support the adoption and implementation of a global FTT?

New HIV prevention technologies

8. Groundbreaking advances have been made in the past 18 months in the research and development of microbicides and a vaccine to prevent HIV infection.
   • How will your party support the global effort in the research and development of new technologies to prevent the spread of HIV, including microbicides and vaccines?
     
   • Will your party commit to re-instating CIDA funding to the International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM) and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiatives (IAVI) at or near historical levels, to support HIV prevention research and development?

United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) – High Level Meeting on HIV and AIDS (June 2011)

9. The UNGASS Declaration of Commitment (DoC) on HIV/AIDS was adopted by all UN Member States including Canada in 2001. It provides a comprehensive framework to halt and reverse the HIV/AIDS epidemic by 2010, and includes specific and measurable milestones for 2003, 2005 and 2010. In 2006, Canada recommitted to the targets set out in the DoC. The General Assembly in its resolution A/Res/65/180 (10 December 2010) has called for a High Level Meeting (HLM) on 8 -10 June 2011, to undertake a comprehensive review of the progress achieved in realizing the 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the 2006 Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS, as well as to promote the continued engagement of leaders in a comprehensive global response to AIDS.
   
• Will you and your party continue to support the DoC and ensure that Canada is doing everything to meet our promised targets?
  
• HIV does not occur in isolation, and countries, including Canada, are dealing with other health concerns that have separate policies and approaches that could result in a setback on the progress made on HIV and the goals outlined in the DoC. If elected, how will you and your party support the integration of policies, programs and services for HIV, TB, sexual and reproductive health, maternal and child health and Hepatitis C?
  
• Universal Access to treatment, prevention, care and support is something that the world has agreed upon, especially through documents such as the DoC. What will you and your party do to help achieve universal access by 2015 both here at home and in the global community?

Access to treatment, prevention, care and support

10. Millions of people in developing countries lack access to medicines for AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other public health problems because they cannot afford them. Seven years ago, Parliament unanimously passed a law (Canada’s Access to Medicine’s Regime – CAMR) to help developing countries get less expensive, generic versions of high-priced patented drugs. But CAMR does not work.There is widespread support for fixing CAMR, including from humanitarian organizations, health and development experts, religious and community leaders and, according to a national opinion poll, 80% of Canadians. If elected, will you and your party support legislation to fix Canada’s Access to Medicines Regime by creating a simple one-licence process, without additional and unnecessary restrictions, in order to improve access to affordable medicines for people in need in developing countries?
    
11. If you are elected, what will you and your party do to ensure that Canada is placing human rights and gender equality at the centre of our response to HIV both here at home and through our international efforts?
    
12. If you are elected, how will you and your party ensure that all Canadians, including those who are particularly vulnerable to HIV, such as those who use drugs, sex workers, gay men and other men who have sex with men, migrant and mobile populations, have equal access to HIV prevention, care, treatment and support?

Election Campaign Websites

Canada Votes 2011: Make HIV a Federal Election Issue
CCIC Election Platform to End Global Poverty and Injustice
Vote to Make Poverty History
Canadian AIDS Society - Election 2011
ACPD's 2011 Canadian Federal Election Questionnaire
Voices-Voix Coalition