Category: Advocacy, Policy, Public Health

Beyond Pride: Reclaiming Community, Health, and the Future of 2SLGBTQIA+ Life in Canada

Posted On: Wednesday, August 12th, 2026

Written by Marc Seguin Every summer, rainbow flags appear across Canada. Streets fill with parades, festivals, drag performances, community gatherings, and celebrations of queer joy. Pride Season offers a visible reminder of how far 2SLGBTQIA+ communities have come in the fight for recognition, equality, and human rights. But what happens after the parade ends and… Read more »

PAN Advocacy Efforts regarding concerns around changes to the Community Action Fund

Posted On: Thursday, July 9th, 2026

  PAN and our partners at the National Advocates table continue to advocate for the future of the Public Health Agency of Canada’s (PHAC) Community Action Fund (CAF), a critical source of support for community-based HIV, hepatitis C and other STBBI initiatives. Following concerns raised earlier this year about potential changes to the CAF and Harm Reduction Fund (HRF)… Read more »

Beyond Pride: Sex, Health, Community, and the Future of 2SLGBTQIA+ Life in Canada

Posted On: Monday, June 29th, 2026

Happy Pride Season!    Across Canada, Pride Season officially takes place from June to September; when 2SLGBTQIA+ people and their allies come together to highlight the resilience, celebrate the talent, and recognize their communities’ contributions. Although special attention is put on the Pride during the summer months, they happen throughout the year in many communities…. Read more »

Call for public input for PharmaCare Drug Coverage review: Maviret® for Acute hepatitis C virus infection

Posted On: Tuesday, June 9th, 2026

For added information, visit BC Government Your Voice page   PharmaCare regularly reviews drugs to decide whether to cover them. PharmaCare considers the drug’s safety, how well it works, how much it costs, and how it compares to other, similar drugs. Another consideration is input from people with experience using the product under review and/or with… Read more »

HIV testing and a recent amendment to the Reporting Information Affecting Public Health Regulation

Posted On: Monday, May 25th, 2026

PAN has been advised by the BC Centre for Disease Control of recent announced changes to HIV testing and reporting in BC following an amendment to the Reporting Information Affecting Public Health Regulation under the Public Health Act.   As of May 15, 2026, the option for non-nominal reporting (removing an individual’s name and identifiers… Read more »

PAN at the Canadian Association of HIV Research (CAHR) Conference 2026

Posted On: Thursday, April 30th, 2026

From April 23-26, the 35th annual Canadian Association of HIV Research (CAHR) conference was held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, “Under open skies: Rising to meet unprecedented challenges in the HIV response.” Hundreds of conference attendees, including people living with HIV, community-based organizations, researchers, academics and allies from across the country gathered for Canada’s premier HIV-focused event… Read more »

Reshaping the Landscape of Sex Work in BC

Posted On: Monday, April 27th, 2026

You are invited to join a virtual capacity building event on Thursday, May 21 from 9:00 AM to 2:30 PM Pacific Time to hear from community-based and peer-led sex work organizations as well as the HIV legal network to gain a landscape view of sex work in BC in 2026. Registration is at the bottom… Read more »

Expanding access to STBBI testing through harm reduction in BC

Posted On: Monday, April 13th, 2026

Written by Amrit Tiwana & Sofia Bartlett  New research highlights important gaps, and promising opportunities, to improve sexually transmitted and bloodborne infection testing for people who use substances at harm reduction sites across British Columbia. Sexually transmitted and bloodborne infections (STBBIs), including HIV, hepatitis C virus, and infectious syphilis, continue to be a major public… Read more »

Marking the 10th Anniversary of BC’s Public Health Emergency of Overdose and Overdose Deaths

Posted On: Thursday, April 2nd, 2026

April 14th will mark the 10th anniversary of the Province of B.C.’s declaration of a public health emergency due to the poisoned drug supply. We are all called upon to remember the 19,000 people who have died from the toxic drug supply since 2014 – and to reflect on the reality that these were preventable… Read more »

New Webinar: Grief Handiwork: What is beginning? (Spring/East)

Posted On: Thursday, March 19th, 2026

Grief does not move in stages. It moves in cycles. Building off of the impact of Fall 2025’s Grief Series in demonstrating the value of intential space for conversation, connection and sharing in a supported way, through the leadership of Carlene Dingwall, PAN’s Capacity Building and Leadership team will be hosting a year-long circle which… Read more »

Three upcoming PLDI Leadership Trainings early 2026

Posted On: Tuesday, January 20th, 2026

  Governance Training (online): Jan 29- Feb 12: (BC, and Western Canada: AB, SK, MB) (*prerequisite Core training) *applications extended until Wednesday, Jan 28, 2026 at 9:00 AM PST!*   Communications Training (in person, Vancouver): March 20-22: (BC) (*prerequisite Core training) Learn more.   Core Training ‘Who am I as a Leader?” (in person, Loon… Read more »

Substance Use News, December 2025

Posted On: Thursday, December 18th, 2025

Substance Use News provides a monthly collection of news and resources on the social, medical and political responses to the toxic drug supply crisis and harm reduction. To get the latest toxic drug safety alerts, visit Info for People Who Use Substances page from Toward the Heart. Get weekly substance use news by subscribing to our newsletter: scroll… Read more »