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AIDS Action Now!, is an AIDS and HIV activist organization founded in 1988 in Toronto. The mission of AIDS Action Now!, states that “through a combination of grass-roots activism, public demonstrations, lobbying, collaborative work with other community organizations, research, and related activities, we will: 

1. Improve access to treatment, care and support for people living with HIV in Canada and around the world.
2. Fight for effective HIV and AIDS prevention that respects human rights.
3. Work to improve the social determinants of health for communities struggling against the AIDS epidemic."

The AIDS Committee of Toronto, a community-based AIDS activist organization and Ontario’s first AIDS service organization, was formally established July 12, 1983. Amid media hysteria, misinformation, homophobia and confusion, the Toronto-based groups, Gays in Health Care and the Hassle Free Clinic, organized a public forum on April 5, 1983 to discuss AIDS and Hepatitis B at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute of Technology. This event was attended by over 300 people, including members of The Body Politic, Red Cross workers, social workers, doctors and archivists, who put forward a proposal to establish a standing AIDS Committee. In response to Toronto’s first AIDS diagnosis 1982, the need for an organization that provided the public with up-to-date information and resources, support services and and advice regarding the virus, quickly became apparent.

Following the initial public forum, a series of meetings were held at the 519 Church Street Community Centre, which led to the establishment of the AIDS Committee of Toronto and its 5 working groups: Medical Liaison, AIDSupport, Fundraising and Special Events and Community Education. On June 9, ACT was successful in its bid to get the Canada Ontario Development Project grant of $62,000 which allowed it to hire 6 people for a period of 6 months. On July 12, ACT elected 10 people to their 12 member Executive Committee. A press conference was held on July 19 to officially announce the establishment of the AIDS Committee of Toronto. In its infancy, ACT worked out of the Hassle Free Clinic, which was followed by their move to an office located at 66 Wellesley Street E. On October 4, 1983, ACT was legally incorporated in the Province of Ontario as a non-profit charitable organization.

In its early days, ACT fostered a ‘bottom-up’ approach to health care and sought to mobilize the gay community. It had a small number of staff who coordinated the volunteer-based working groups whose members were elected as Board of Directors. As service demands grew quickly, ACT began to shift towards becoming a more structured organization, through the establishment of policies, procedures and a screening process for volunteers.

ACT’s activities centred around HIV prevention through sexual health education and providing support services for people living with and at risk for HIV/AIDS. The education campaigns and programs were initiated through forums, discussion groups, conferences and speaking engagements. On July 4, 1984, ACT organized the first AIDS Awareness Week which would later become a provincial and national event. The event was composed of panel discussions, benefits and press conferences. Education efforts also extended to brochure and poster projects, which were circulated to targeted communities and reproduced by external groups. ACT’s first brochure was “This Is a Test” which provided information on HIV antibody testing. On September 3 1985, ACT’s film “No Sad Songs” premiered. The film was directed by Nick Sheehan, profiling Jim Black, a man living with AIDS and the gay community’s response to AIDS.

In addition to education, the organization offered support services that were geared towards people worried about HIV/AIDS, people living with HIV, AIDS, ARC and PLS and their loved ones. A range of services were offered through programs such as the Buddy Program, Financial Assistance Program, Practical Assistance Program, Bereavement Program, the ACT Hotline and the Volunteer Counselling Services. These programs offered financial, practical and emotional support and assistance. In 1986, ACT announced plans to open North America’s first AIDS hospice. The hospice project resulted in the establishment of Casey House in 1988, which has since then operated independently.

ACT advocated for government action in response to the AIDS epidemic on the municipal, provincial and federal levels. It sat on various government committees and submitted briefs and reports on a variety of issues. When the HIV antibody test became available in Canada, ACT advocated for anonymous testing to reduce barriers to testing and stigma associated with HIV//AIDS.

In 1993, ACT moved to 399 Church Street. This location housed ACT’s Access Centre which operated a small circulating library collection, reference material and free up to date information on HIV/AIDS, which was made available for the public. In the early 1990s, ACT underwent restructuring as many community members felt that the organization had become burdened by bureaucracy.

In addition to its educational and support-based projects and campaigns, ACT organized other community events, such as the first AIDS Vigil, held in 1985. Fundraising events were also introduced. The AIDS Walk Toronto was an annual event started in 1988 in which community-based organizations participated to raise awareness and funds for AIDS,and to promote education and support services. Fashion Cares was an annual Gala fundraiser, which included fashion shows, auctions, banquets, and after shows. This annual gala aimed to raise HIV/AIDS awareness and funds for ACT in partnership with local and national designers, celebrities and businesses. The Fashion Cares Gala was held in 1987 at the Sherbourne Street Diamond Nightclub. September 9, 2012 marked the final Fashion Cares event, which was held at the Sony Centre.

APT Environment is an environmental organization in Elmira, Ontario, that is interested in the Chemtura Canada Company, formerly Uniroyal Chemical and Crompton Company. Since 1941 the plant has undergone various name and ownership changes. From 1966-2000 the plant operated as Uniroyal Chemical, from 2000-2006 as Crompton Company, and on July 1, 2006 formally changed its name to Chemtura Canada Company.

The Aamjiwnaang First Nation (formally known as Chippewas of Sarnia) is a First Nations community of about 2400 Chippewa (Ojibwe) Aboriginal peoples (850 of which live on Reserve). We are located on the St. Clair River, 3 miles south of the southern tip of Lake Huron in the city limits of Sarnia southwestern Ontario, Canada – just across the United States border from Port Huron, Michigan.

For more details consult their website at https://www.aamjiwnaang.ca/history/.

Our heritage language is Ojibwa.

The name Aamjiwnaang, (pronounced am-JIN-nun) means “at the spawning stream.”

Robert B. Aaron is a lawyer in Toronto, Ontario, and has served as a bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada since 1995.

Edwin Austin Abbey, newphew of the painter, a graduate of St. Mark's School and the University of Pennsylvania, enlisted early in the war in a Canadian regiment, was wounded in April, 1916, returned to the front as lieutenant, and was killed in action at Vimy Ridge on April 10, 1917.

Abbeyfield Housing Society of Shanty Bay was a volunteer organization founded to bring a retirement home (O'Brien House) to Shanty Bay.

Douglas Charles Abbott (1899-1987) was a Canadian Member of Parliament. He served overseas from 1916 to 1918 and after he practiced law. From 1934 to 1945, he was a Parliamentary assistant to the ministers of National Defence and Finance. In 1940, he was elected to the House of Commons and from 1945 to 1946 he was the Minister of National Defence (Naval Services). At the same time, he was the Minister of National Defence. He became the Minister of Finance in 1946 to 1954 when he was appointed Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court of Canada. He kept this position until his retirement in 1974.

R.D. Abbott served with 4 Princess Louise Dragoon Guards, and was the Officer-in-Charge of training for Eastern Ontario Area Militia during the early 1960s.

Richard David Abbott was born in Ottawa, on June 19, 1936. He attended Carleton College in 1954 and graduated in 1957 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics. As an undergraduate student at Carleton, he was a member of the University's Canadian Officers' Training Corps and was President of Carleton's Students' Council from 1956 to 1957. In May of 1957, Professor Abbott worked in a summer position of the Treasury Board Division of the Department of Finance as a Finance Officer. Further, he recieved a Bachelor of Laws Degree from Queen's University in 1960. The following year he worked as a student-at-law at the firm of Bell and Baker in Ottawa. Professor Abbott was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1962 and later that year found employment as the Assistant City Solicitor for the City of Ottawa. During that same year he went on to attend Harvard Law School and received his Master of Laws Degree in 1968. In September of 1963, Professor Abbott was appointed the first, full-time lecturer in Public Law at Carleton University. In 1970, he worked as a Grievance Adjudicator under the Public Service Staff Relations Act and an arbitrator on a part-time basis under the Ontario Labour Management Arbitration Commission Act. On July 1, 1975 he became a Professor of Law in the Department of Law and was the Chairman of the Department during the years 1967-1970. Other academic appointments during this time were Visiting Professor, Faculty of Law, Dalhousie University (1970-1972); Visiting and Part-time Associate Professor, Faculty of Environmental Design, University of Calgary. From 1980-1996 he was a Part-time Professor, Department of Law, and Professor of Law in the Faculty of Public Administration, Carleton University. Professor Abbott's professional memberships include the following: Member of the Law Society of Upper Canada; Member of the International Commission of Jurists (Canadian Section); Member of the Canadian Environmental Law Association; Member of the Committee of Adjustment for the City of Ottawa; Member of the International council of Environmental Law; Member of the Public Service Staff Relations Rights Tribunal. He also assisted the Education Relations Commission of Ontario in dealing with conflicts between teachers and school boards as a Final Offer Selector and served as an arbitrator pursuant to the Ontario Motor Vehicle Arbitration Plan. Throughout his academic career, Professor Abbott has received a number of honours and awards. The following are some of these - the Carswell Prize in Legislation and Jurisprudence, Harvard Law School Fellowship, Graduating Medal from the Faculty of Law, Queen's University and the Law Society of Upper Canada Fellowship. Published material includes "Modification and Discharge of Restrictive Conenants Affecting Freehold Land" (1960), "Readings on the Law of Environmental Quality" (1971) and "Cases and Materials of the Law of Public Authorities" (1982, 1986, and 1992).

George Abbs (1822-1904) was a Methodist minister and editor and book agent of the Canada Christian Advocate. He was born in Arlington, England. In 1851 he married Susan Inglehart of Palermo, Ontario. He was ordained in the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1851 and served in the Toronto, London and Niagara Districts. He was at Nelson in 1863. From 1864 to 1870 be served in The Barton and Hamilton Circuits and was the Editor and Book Agent of the Canada Christian Advocate.

Abe Levine (b. 1901) was the son of Moses and Sarah Levine. He was married to Emma Ciglen Levine (b. 1903), an actress, originally from Meaford, Ontario. Emma was born in Wellington County to Jacob and Minnie Ciglen. Abe and Emma lived in Hanover, Ontario and had a daughter in 1925 named Frances. They eventually moved to Toronto. Frances' married name was Bederman. She became a drama teacher.