• A person infected with HIV who knowingly engages in sexual activity with an uninfected person is guilty of aggravated sexual assault under Canadian law.o' canada image by Kathryn Palmer from Fotolia.com
  
  A person diagnosed with HIV who knowingly engages in sexual activity with an uninfected person, thereby transmitting the HIV to him, is guilty of aggravated sexual assault under Canadian law. An HIV-infected person is obligated to reveal his health condition to individuals with whom he has sexual relations. Knowingly exposing a person to the HIV virus is equivalent to grievous bodily injury and aggravated sexual assault because HIV leads to AIDS, a deadly contagious disease. This topic, termed "the criminalization of HIV," continues to be a heated debate in cases where criminal intent has to be established.
  
  

R v. Cuerrier Case of 1998

• Hiding the facts of HIV-positive status is considered fraud in Canada.ruban rouge image by Ploum1 from Fotolia.com
  
  The Supreme Court of Canada passed down judgment that a person who has HIV and has willfully transmitted the disease to another sexual partner is guilty of aggravated sexual assault. The burden of proof rests on the person infected with HIV to disclose her health status. Hiding the facts of HIV-positive status "is a type of fraud... (constituting) dishonesty...non-disclosure of important facts, deprivation, or risk of deprivation."
  
  

R v. Williams of 2003

• Criminalization of HIV makes willful transmission illegal.judge image by dinostock from Fotolia.com
  
  In the R v. Williams case of 2003, the Canadian court charged the defendant, Harold Williams, with aggravated assault. He transmitted the HIV disease to his partner, who became HIV positive. However, the reason that his sentence was not heavier was that the court could not prove whether the woman had HIV before coming into contact with Williams. The verdict was five years imprisonment.
  
  

R v. Aziga Case of 2008

• Canadian legislation criminalizes intentional HIV transmission.case law #2 image by stassad from Fotolia.com
  
  The R v. Aziga case of 2008 is a historical precedent where an HIV positive man named Johnson Aziga transferred the HIV virus to two women, killing them both. Canada's Ontario Court charged him with first-degree murder. Five other women have also contracted the HIV virus through Aziga, where they traced the cause through sexual contact with him. Aziga, diagnosed with HIV since 1996, had previously lied about his health condition in order to seduce his victims.
  
  

HIV Laws

• Canadian tribunals have drafted mandatory reporting laws such as the "Reporting Requirements for HIV Positive Persons Regulations of Nova Scotia," the "Mandatory Testing and Disclosure Regulations of Nova Scotia" and the "Mandatory Testing and Disclosure Regulation of Alberta." Also under the Public Health Act, the "Reporting of Diseases and Conditions Regulation of Manitoba" and the "Communicable Diseases Regulation of Alberta" state that infected people are obligated to inform previous partners of their disease status.