STONY CONVICT SAYS INMATES NEED MORE HIV PROTECTION

STONY MOUNTAIN -- Mic McGrath is serving five years in the federal
penitentiary here on drug charges, but said his sentence could've
easily been death after sharing a needle with an HIV-positive inmate.

"He's dying, and if it wasn't for bleach, I'd be dead," said McGrath,
40, who credits prison officials with allowing bleach sterilization
kits for needles but says more needs to be done to protect inmates.
McGrath was one of about 100 inmates who took part in a vigil at Stony
Mountain yesterday to mark World AIDS Day and Aboriginal AIDS Day in
Canada.

The rate of HIV infection in Canada's prisons has increased tenfold in
just over a decade, with 24 cases in 1989 but 223 reported in 2001.

Statistics show the Prairie region has the second-highest number of
federal inmates infected with HIV, with an estimated 1.8 per cent of
the population infected. Quebec had the highest incidence, with 2.7
per cent of inmates infected. For women incarcerated on the Prairies,
the numbers are even higher -- an infection rate of eight women for
every 100 prisoners. The rate of infection in the general population
is 0.2 per cent.

Inmates holding candles shared a moment of silence yesterday to
remember those affected by AIDS. The ceremony was also a chance to
publicize their campaign for a needle exchange program and safe
tattooing equipment.

The prison's health committee, in conjunction with the Manitoba AIDS
Co-operative, has printed postcards for inmates and others to send to
their members of Parliament demanding a more constructive approach to
stemming what they see as an epidemic. Three tattooed young men who
took part in the vigil said it was their choice to attend. They each
have a partner and children waiting for them on the outside and said
the public should care about what happens to inmates if for no other
reason than they'll return to the community one day. Their chances of
being productive, contributing members of society are a lot higher if
they're healthy.

McGrath kicked his drug habit with the help of a prison-run methadone
program and is being treated for hepatitis C. He sees an epidemic
brewing behind the prison walls, with newcomers to Stony getting
homemade tattoos and as many as 10 addicts sharing one needle.

No matter how hard prison guards try to keep contraband drugs, needles
and tattooing equipment out of the penitentiary, they will always find
their way in, said McGrath. Correctional Services of Canada has been
considering a needle exchange program since 1995 but so far hasn't
acted on it.

Officials don't know just how many Stony inmates are infected with
HIV, said Stony's chief of health care, Kim Shaw.

More inmates would agree to be tested for HIV if they knew they would
be the only ones to see the results, McGrath said. The federal prison
system has to take a whole new approach if it's going to address the
rate of HIV infection, he said.

The stigma attached to the disease is still so great, people are
afraid they'll be branded. There has to be a better way of helping
inmates to kick intravenous drug habits, said McGrath. "When that
light is shone upon your situation, it makes it tougher on a guy,"
said McGrath.