The XVI International AIDS Conference was held in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, during the week of 13–18 August 2006. This was the third time that

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

has hosted the International AIDS Conference, after

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

in 1989 and

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

in 1996. The main venue for the conference was the

Metro Toronto Convention Centre Metro Toronto Convention Centre (originally and still colloquially Metro Convention Centre, and sometimes MTCC), is a convention complex located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada along Front Street (Toronto), Front Street West in the former Railway Lan ...

(MTCC) in downtown Toronto. The conference theme was ''Time to Deliver''. The conference was focused on the promises and progress made to scale-up treatment, care and prevention. In particular: *Accelerating research to end the epidemic *Expanding and sustaining human resources to scale-up treatment and prevention *Intensifying the involvement of affected communities *Building new leadership to advance the response Activities included cultural, youth and outreach programmes as well as a Global Village, which served as an international gathering place with displays of culture, food, community, and a marketplace. Events open to delegates and the public included The International AIDS Vigil, a public memorial to all those who have died of HIV/AIDS. The Vigil took place on at 9 pm on 17 August at Yonge-Dundas Square, Toronto. Well-known attendees and speakers included

Governor General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

Michaëlle Jean Michaëlle Jean (; born September 6, 1957) is a Canadian former journalist who served as the 27th governor general of Canada from 2005 to 2010. She is the first Haitian Canadian and black person to hold this office. Jean was the Organisation i ...

Stephen Lewis Stephen Henry Lewis (born November 11, 1937) is a Canadian politician, public speaker, broadcaster, and diplomat. He was the Canadian ambassador to the United Nations in the 1980s and was the leader of the social democratic Ontario New Democr ...

(the United Nations special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa), Bill and Melinda Gates (for the

Gates Foundation The Gates Foundation is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was launched in 2000 and is reported to be the third largest charitable foundation in the world, holding $ ...

Richard Gere Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began appearing in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in ''Looking for Mr. Goodbar (film), Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Hea ...

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...

, and

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

Harper controversy

Canadian Prime Minister

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...

, who decided not to attend the conference, was criticized by Conference co-chairman Dr.

Mark Wainberg Mark Arnold Wainberg, (21 April 1945 – 11 April 2017) was a Canadian HIV/AIDS researcher and HIV/AIDS activist. He was the director of the McGill University AIDS Centre at the Montreal Jewish General Hospital and Professor of Medicine and ...

in his speech, saying, "We are dismayed that the prime minister of Canada, Mr. Stephen Harper, is not here this evening...The role of prime minister includes the responsibility to show leadership on the world stage. Your absence sends the message that you do not consider HIV/AIDS as a critical priority, and clearly all of us here disagree with you". Canadian Minister of Health

Tony Clement Tony Peter Clement ('' né'' Payani; born January 27, 1961) is a Canadian former politician in the federal and Ontario governments. He was Member of Parliament for Parry Sound-Muskoka and a federal cabinet minister in the Conservative Party ...

attended in Harper's plac

Harper's absence from the conference is the second time the Canadian head of government has decided not to attend the conference. In 1996, former Prime Minister

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a retired Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. He served as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, leader of t ...

did not attend the conferenc

Asylum seekers controversy

A second controversy, that followed Mr. Stephen Harper's choice to not attend, was the fact that 151 delegates who were in attendance refused to return to their home countries – instead opting to seek asylum in Canada

This development seriously hurt the credibility of the conference and many suggested that the Prime Minister's office may have been justified in its decision to not have Mr. Harper in attendance.

References

External links

AIDS 2006International AIDS Vigil

''Full of sound and fury, but signifying something: XVI International AIDS Conference, Toronto, Canada, 13–18 August 2006''
by William A. Wells. A Special Report in the ''Journal of Cell Biology'', Volume 175, Number 1, 6–15. Published 9 October 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:International AIDS Conference, 2006 HIV/AIDS in Canada 2006 in Toronto International AIDS Conferences International conferences in Canada 2006 conferences August 2006 in Canada

Harper controversy

Asylum seekers controversy

See also

References

External links