Search

Unlike the iconic 1972 Summit Series, the 1974 Series between the Soviet Union and Team Canada—this time a national team consisting solely of World Hockey Association (WHA) players—remains largely a Canadian folklore footnote. In this essay, the authors hold up the 1974 Summit Series for critical reflection by focussing on three interrelated themes to reveal the competing political-economic, cultural, and diplomatic interests that were at stake in this largely forgotten event. First, they provide a political-economic analysis of the emergence of the WHA and the league's objectives for the 1974 Summit Series. The authors then offer an analysis of the role of the second Summit Series as an instance of "hockey diplomacy," a component of Prime Minister Trudeau's broader foreign policy agenda, which included improved bilateral relations with Moscow. Finally, the authors examine the significance of the 1974 Summit Series as part of the foreign policy initiatives of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Despite the stated diplomatic ambitions of both Canada and the Soviet Union, though, the 1974 Summit Series (like its 1972 predecessor) ended in violence, politicking, and accusations of unsportsmanlike behaviour, and would mark the finality of this specific bilateral model of sporting exchange to facilitate cultural contact and goodwill between both nations in the Cold War. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors suveyed a random sample of community-resident offenders in British Columbia to determine the prevalence of wife assault. The rate was high: About 1 in 5 men had a known history (current or lifetime). These findings support the view that wife assault is an important policy issue for provincial corrections agencies. A number of strategies for dealing with this problem are discussed, including public education, counseling for wife assaulters, services for victims, and staff training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stigma related to HIV in the healthcare system has a pervasive, negative impact on the mental, physical and sexual health of people living with HIV. While well-documented before the advent of antiretroviral treatment, this stigma in Canada has not been as thoroughly examined from a critical perspective since HIV's evolution from an acute to a chronic illness. The current study examines attitudes and beliefs of healthcare providers toward people living with HIV through the use of focus groups. Focus group participants were women living with HIV, men living with HIV, medical and nursing students, and health care providers working with people living with HIV. Data analysis was conducted with a critical lens using an immersion/ crystallization approach. Two broad themes emerged from the data: HIV-specific experiences, and components of stigma. Both negative and positive experiences were described. Discrimination, as a behavioural act, was deemed to be the less prevalent and often more covert expression of stigmatization. Stereotyping, including with regard to perceived sexuality, and prejudice were seen as more insidious and perpetuated by both the medical and educational establishments. These findings clearly demonstrate the need for change in terms of reducing the amount of stigma present in these complex, nuanced, and enduring relationships between people living with HIV and the health care system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study piloted the GPS (Gay-Positive Sex) Latino program for men who have sex with men (MSM) who immigrated to Canada. GPS Latino is an individual counseling intervention program that involves the provision of information, motivational interviewing, and behavioral skills building to reduce risk behaviors associated with HIV and STI transmission. We designed a pre-post study without control to assess the effects of GPS Latino on depression, loneliness, the self-efficacy of condom use negotiation, and condomless anal sex (CAS). During the study, one HIV-positive peer counselor administered six 2-hour counseling sessions to 11 participants living with HIV and 10 HIV-negative MSM Latinos living in Toronto, Canada. A paired t-test and a McNemar test were employed to assess the effects of GPS Latino twelve months after the start of the intervention. Our study shows a reduction in CAS (any partner) from 90% at the baseline to 62% at the 12-month follow-up (p = 0.06). The findings also indicate an increase from 19.2 to 21.5 (p = 0.01) in self-efficacy of negotiating condom use in HIV-negative participants. As a peer-led counseling intervention, GPS Latino may offer an efficient way of concurrently reducing CAS and increasing condom use negotiation in immigrant Latino men who have sex with men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]