Canadian Military Ban on Applicants with HIV to be Challenged in Court
Goldblatt Partners is representing J.B., a former officer and captain in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), in his constitutional challenge to the CAF’s prohibition on recruits living with HIV. The challenge was filed alongside the HIV&AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario (HALCO) represented by Kastner Ko.
The CAF has an explicit policy to disqualify all persons living with HIV from being selected for aircrew training in the Royal Canadian Air Force under AMA Directive 100-01. Further, the CAF deems persons with HIV as being unable to meet the Common Enrolment Medical Standards (CEMS) and thereby bars applicants with HIV from being admitted to the Regular Force, the Primary Reserve, and other branches of the armed forces.
J.B. served as an active-duty member in the Regular Force for 13 years from 2007 to 2020. In 2012, J.B. was diagnosed with HIV. While the CAF was fully aware of his diagnosis, J.B. continued to serve in the CAF for a further 8 years, including a 9-month deployment in an active combat zone in Mali. In 2024, when J.B. attempted to rejoin the CAF in a reservist role, the CAF denied his application explicitly based on his HIV status, despite his exemplary prior service.
HALCO and J.B. assert that the CAF’s policy to bar applicants living with HIV is discriminatory, violates the equality protection in the Charter, and is premised on outdated stereotypes about people living with HIV.
Commenting on his treatment by the CAF, J.B. stated: “I was deeply hurt by the CAF’s decision to reject my application due solely to my HIV status, particularly when I was fully capable of serving my country with my diagnosis for over 8 years, including 9 months on a very demanding and high-risk deployment.” The CAF has maintained its discriminatory practice, despite an internal report from 2014 confirming that service members with HIV are “able to meet the minimum operational standards and continue to perform their duties fully and effectively.” The CAF’s policy is at odds with other leading armed forces, including the British Armed Forces, which fully eliminated HIV as a barrier to entry in 2025. The CAF maintains this policy despite failing to meet its recruitment targets, and despite a move in 2025 to eliminate a number automatically disqualifying medical conditions in favour of individualized assessments.
Counsel for HALCO and J.B. are available for comment and can make the underlying court documents available. For inquiries, contact:
Gregory Ko t: 416-655-3044 x809 e: gko@kastnerko.com
Kastner Ko LLP
Melanie Anderson t: 416-977-4386 e: manderson@goldblattpartners.com
Goldblatt Partners
Media Coverage
Toronto Star, August 14, 2026: Veteran launches constitutional challenge to Canadian military’s ban on recruits with HIV
Lawyers
Melanie Anderson, Umaiyahl Nageswaran
Practice Areas
Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, Human Rights Law, Public Interest Litigation