‘It’s killing people’: Sask. NDP calls on province to address HIV crisis

Needles discovered by Brittany Cook near harm reduction centres in Regina. (Hallee Mandryk/CTV News)

The Saskatchewan NDP is calling on the province to address rising HIV rates by implementing a bipartisan committee.

“We have a crisis and it’s killing people,” NDP MLA Nathanial Teed said during legislative assembly on Wednesday.

Data released in April says Saskatchewan had the second highest rate of HIV in Canada in 2024 at 18.6 diagnosed cases per 100,000 people – over three times the national average of 5.5 cases.

Manitoba, which had the highest rate of 19.5 in 2024, declared a state of emergency just last week.

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“It caused the Government of Manitoba significant alarm to discover they were the worst in Canada for HIV rates, but it never seemed to bother the Sask. Party,” Teed said.

“Earlier today, we called for a bipartisan working committee to work on solutions to this crisis. My question is, will the Sask. Party work with us on solutions to this public health emergency?”

Minister of Rural and Remote Health Lori Carr agreed the numbers are concerning, and said the government is committed to addressing the issue.

“We have been receiving regular updates through coordinated calls with the SHA, Indigenous Services Canada and the Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority in response to the increased HIV transmission in Saskatchewan in the highest areas,” she said.

Carr said new positions have been funded and filled to strengthen local capacity.

She added other efforts are underway to improve awareness, expand access to testing, offer medication, and support timely initiation of treatment.

“We listen to the advice of our medical professionals to make informed decisions, not political reactions that risk further stigmatizing those who actually need the support,” she said.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Saskatchewan Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab said it’s always an important time to talk about sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

“It’s a really important topic for every age group, not just people who are young,” he said.

Shahab said in June 2025, the government published a refreshed testing policy for sexually transferred infections and blood-borne pathogens. In October 2025, a multi-year action plan was published on the government’s website.

Shahab said the province had stable rates of HIV under the action plan until about 2019-2020.

Post COVID-19, Shahab said there has been a resurgence in many STIs, including HIV.

“HIV is unique because it has no vaccine. It has needs lifelong treatment, but there’s very effective treatment,” he added.

Shahab said he encourages people to get tested for all STIs based on their risk factor.

“For otherwise healthy people who may not be sexually active, [who] may not have other risk factors like substance use – get tested at least once. For people who are in a stable, monogamous relationship, maybe getting tested once every five years is sufficient,” he said.

“We should all know our risk, and we should be able to talk to a healthcare provider freely and openly about your risk. There’s no stigma, no judgment in that.”

Shahab went on to say there has been an increase in several parts of the province, mainly in Saskatoon, Prince Albert, and remote communities.

“Whenever we see an increase, what happens is that obviously public health teams get involved. They encourage broad testing within the social network … because when you get HIV, you get fever, you feel lousy for a few weeks, and that’s a high risk of HIV transmission,” he explained.

“Unless you get tested, you don’t even know you have HIV, but you may be transferring to others.”

Shahab said over the last eight months or so, the province has been doing a lot of testing where there have been new cases emerging.

In terms of whether Saskatchewan will also be declaring a public health emergency like Manitoba, Shahab said they have already taken steps to address the issue.

“We’ll keep evaluating,” he said. “At this point, for us in Saskatchewan, the way our Public Health Act and regulations are – the declaration emergency won’t give us any additional tools. We already have those tools, but the work happens at the ground level, person by person … but we’ll continue to evaluate.”