In the news: New HIV prevention guidelines say doctors should not ‘gatekeep’ PrEP

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…

New HIV prevention guidelines say doctors should not be ‘gatekeeping’ PrEP

A coalition of doctors across Canada is releasing a new guideline for prescribing medications that can prevent HIV infection, with a strong focus on increasing the promotion and awareness of the expanding class of drugs.

The clinical guideline provides 31 recommendations and 10 good practices for prescribing antiretroviral medication before and after a potential HIV exposure to prevent infection.

Lead author Dr. Darrell Tan said 19 physicians spent the last three years reviewing the latest research to write the new guidelines, as the range of available pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) options has expanded since the last guidance was released in 2017.

The recommendations are aimed at reducing the rise of HIV infections in Canada over the last several years, in pursuit of the country’s goal to eliminate the sexually transmitted infection as a public health threat by 2030.

N.S. open to conversations about projects on protected land, minister says

A Nova Scotia minister says she has no interest in allowing a world-renowned golf developer to build a course in a Cape Breton provincial park.

However, Natural Resources Minister Kim Masland says she’s open to discussing other projects on protected land.

Masland’s comments last week drew criticism from the Opposition, who said she appeared to be talking out of both sides of her mouth.

Cabot, a Toronto-based company that develops golf courses around the world, has tried three times to build on Cape Breton’s West Mabou Beach.

Nova Scotia begins sell off of U.S. booze, plans to donate proceeds to charity

Nova Scotia liquor stores will once again stock booze from the United States beginning today, but only for a limited time.

The province is selling off its remaining stock of alcohol from the U.S. and plans to donate the proceeds, estimated at $4 million, to food-related charities.

Nova Scotia liquor stores pulled American booze from shelves earlier this year in response to tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Premier Tim Houston has said the province already paid for the products and they shouldn’t go to waste, though there were no plans to reorder inventory from the U.S. once this stockpile has been sold.

Price vs. patriotism: Holiday season a test for buy Canadian sentiment

With the holiday shopping season now in full swing, small business owners are watching to see whether Canadians put their money where their mouth is.

Several studies suggest many Canadians plan to support homegrown companies when picking up gifts, but business owners say shoppers aren’t following through.

Lisa Pozin, who owns Vancouver shop Giving Gifts, says customers still appreciate domestic items on her shelves, but their country of origin doesn’t carry the same weight it once did.

The same is true in Toronto, where toy store owner Sam Care says people aren’t boycotting U.S. goods the same way they did earlier in the year.

Montreal museum spotlights sex workers history of activism and resistance

When community group Mile End Chavurah held an event in 2023 to name Jewish Montreal’s “new patron saint,” Maimie Pinzer was the winning choice.

As an activist, Pinzer established a community space for her fellow sex workers in 1915.

Decades later, she is honoured with a black, white and hot-pink mural in the Mile End neighbourhood. She has also become the namesake and inspiration for sex worker advocacy group Stella, l’amie de Maimie.

Now she, and generations of other “defiant women,” are at the heart of a Montreal exhibit highlighting sex worker activism, both in the defence of their way of life and as part of other social causes, from the fight against AIDS to anti-poverty.

—

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 1, 2025.