Canada’s HIV immigration policy has been called outdated and discriminatory

When they found love in Mexico 10 years ago, one of the first things the Canadian man’s boyfriend confided to him was that he was HIV positive.

But the medical condition was no longer seen as the health threat it once was, and it wouldn’t stop their budding relationship.

The couple maintained a long-distance relationship for four years before the Mexican partner moved to Toronto with a work permit in 2017.

When they started their spousal support application in 2020, the couple learned of Canada’s automatic HIV partner disclosure policy.

It is a policy that requires an immigration applicant or refugee to provide proof that they have disclosed their medical condition to the person sponsoring them to Canada.

The couple say they found the formal process not only offensive but frustrating as it delayed the processing of their file for another 18 months.

Finally, they were scheduled for the highly anticipated short interview in April to personally confirm that the sponsored partner’s HIV status had been disclosed.

“It’s not just a privacy issue. I also just feel incredibly stigmatized,” said the 55-year-old Canadian fashion designer, who asked not to be identified to protect his partner’s privacy.

“I don’t feel like it’s anyone’s business, and I don’t feel like it’s something that should be addressed for my partner.”

The so-called “automatic partner notification policy” has been in effect since 2003 as a public health measure to stop the spread of the HIV virus, which if left untreated can lead to acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or AIDS, a disease that has killed millions.

However, modern medical treatments have transformed the virus into a manageable medical condition, and proponents say the Immigration Department’s “outdated and discriminatory” policies should end after two decades.

In mid-June, three organizations wrote to Immigration Minister Sean Fraser and Women and Gender Equality and Youth Minister Marci Ien, demanding that the policy be withdrawn, saying it discriminated against people living with HIV and undermined their right to equal treatment. the Canadian charter.

“Not only does the policy significantly increase the processing time of immigration applications for people living with HIV, it also perpetuates myths and stereotypes that people with HIV are deceitful and that intimate relationships are less valuable,” the letter said.

The signatories to the letter are the HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic of Ontario (HALCO), the HIV Legal Network and the Coalition des organismes communautaires québécois de lutte contre le sida (COCQ-SIDA).

Michael Battista, their counsel, said the policy is discriminatory because only those applicants sponsored under the family and refugee classes are subject to disclosure to the partner policy.

Applicants for temporary residence visas – visitors, international students, temporary foreign workers – and those applying for permanent residence in an economic class are not screened in the same way, even though they too may be HIV positive.

“We let in HIV-positive foreign students, foreign employees. We never force them to reveal to their intimate partners that they are HIV positive. Why do we select the family class and dependent refugees?” asked Battista.

“It doesn’t even serve the purposes of his public health concern.”

The policy is unique for HIV positive applicants. There is no comparable mechanism for other health problems.

Immigration applicants with active pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) and untreated syphilis may be declared ineligible in Canada, unless treated, on the grounds that their condition poses a threat to public safety, according to standards set by Health Canada.

Unlike TB and untreated syphilis, immigration officials do not consider HIV a public health threat.

When the original policy was implemented, consent from the HIV-positive applicant was required for immigration officials to contact their sponsor in Canada about their HIV status and assess whether the sponsor would withdraw their application.

To avoid the impression that the policy was inducing sponsors to withdraw their application, the updated policy since 2016 gives the HIV-positive applicant 60 days to prove that they have informed their sponsor of their diagnosis or to to withdraw the application. If no action is taken by the applicant, immigration officials will notify the sponsor of their HIV status after 60 days.

HIV-positive sponsorship applicants must also attend a mandatory interview that is not required for other sponsorship applicants.

Battista said immigration officials hadn’t strictly enforced the policy until about 18 months ago, when he began to see processing times of cases from HIV-positive clients getting “inexplicably longer.”

“The explanation we got was that they were automatically placed in the interview stream. We tried to be proactive and provide evidence that the sponsor had been made aware of the HIV positive health status of the person being sponsored,” said Battista. “But they just didn’t budge.”

He said the policy perpetuates a stereotype that people living with HIV are morally culpable and irresponsible in taking precautions to prevent HIV transmission.

On his websitethe immigration service said the policy is not intended to inflict “unnecessary hardship” on applicants or sponsors.

“Rather, it is a measure that will protect the health and safety of the spouses and partners (who live in Canada) of applicants in the family and dependent refugee classes who test positive for HIV,” it noted.

While the language change in the 2016 policy was an improvement, Avinet Cheema, a staff lawyer at HALCO, said it still doesn’t reflect modern science.

“This is a policy that was implemented at a time when there wasn’t as much modern scientific progress when it comes to HIV and suppressing viral loads and things like that,” said Cheema, who has seen cases where an officer asked the sponsor why they are comfortable marrying an HIV carrier.

“Being diagnosed with HIV is by no means a death sentence at this point. And with medicines it is so manageable that life expectancy does not even really decrease.”

There are other sexually transmitted diseases, Cheema said, and picking on HIV further stigmatizes those living with the virus.

“That really focuses on the dignity of people living with HIV because the Canadian government is essentially telling them, ‘You’re different. You are dangerous. Your state of health makes it so.’”

The policy, she added, disproportionately affects gay, transgender, black and other racial people because of the heightened impact of HIV stigma.

The Mexican partner’s Canadian sponsor said they are committed and responsible adults but felt uncomfortable during their April interview at the Niagara Falls immigration office.

“I felt there was homophobia hidden behind a mask of protocol,” he said. “I don’t think it’s fair that they single out people with HIV. It’s not fair that my partner has to go through that.”

In an email to the Star, the Immigration Department said it does not collect data on reports issued, interviews conducted and sponsorship withdrawals registered under the policy.

A spokesperson for the department said the policy is currently under review and any changes will be made public when finalized.

Nicholas Keung is a Toronto-based reporter who covers immigration for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @nkeung

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