PEI

How the onset of AIDS — and the public's reaction — affected the gay community on P.E.I.

A new documentary sheds light on the early days of HIV-AIDS on P.E.I.

New documentary features first-hand accounts of unfounded 'hysteria'

Local filmmaker Dave Stewart says the first person he 'came out' to was his doctor, because he wanted an HIV test. (Craig MacLeod)

Months after Allan Hickox became the first person believed to have died from AIDS on Prince Edward Island, people at the church potluck were still reluctant to eat from the dish brought by his mother Jean, "the sweetest woman in Breadalbane."

That was in 1987, and part of a story told by Allan's relative Stuart Hickox in a new documentary by Island filmmaker Dave Stewart about the early days of AIDS on P.E.I.

"People wouldn't eat because, you know, you didn't want to get AIDS — as if you could catch HIV from someone's potluck," Hickox recalls in the documentary. "That's how ridiculous it was. That's how out of control the hysteria was."

Hickox speaks about how his great-aunt Jean was hounded by the media, and followed at places like the grocery store and hospital.

It was an ordeal not just for Allan, but for the whole family, Hickox says.

"I think one of the worst things of the whole thing was how people reacted. The church disappeared. The communities retreated."

In an interview with Mainstreet P.E.I. host Matt Rainnie, Stewart said he was moved by Hickox's story.

"It did hit me. And that's the appropriate word, because you know, Stuart [Hickox] and I are about the same age and we both had very similar experiences in some ways in that we were both gay men and in the closet who just knew we couldn't come out. It just wasn't safe."

Two men share a smile.
Troy Perrot-Sanderson, left, and George Clark-Dunning are two of the people who agreed to share their memories in Dave Stewart's documentary. (Oakar Myint/Positive)

Stewart eventually "came out" to his doctor because he wanted an HIV test. Though it eventually came back negative, it took months to get the results.

"I was a wreck. Stuart kind of lived with that for years. So not only did I relate to the story he was telling me about Allan, but I also related to what he was saying, you know?"

Troy Perrot-Sanderson and George Clark-Dunning, who advocate for people with HIV, also share their experiences in the documentary. 

And though the topic is quite heavy, they share it with humour and a desire to educate people, Stewart said.

They speak in part about their fear of dying from AIDS, and how important it was to keep a few black suits on hand to attend the frequent funerals of their friends.

"This was not just a number, this wasn't just a scenario, and it was not just bartenders talking about, 'I haven't seen Ron for a while,' and then somebody at the end of the bar going, 'Ron died two weeks ago,'" Clark-Dunning says in the documentary.

Positive: When HIV/AIDS hit P.E.I. airs on Dec. 1, World AIDS Day, at 7 p.m. at City Cinema. Admission is free.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Shane Ross

Journalist

Shane Ross is a journalist with CBC News on Prince Edward Island. Previously, he worked as a newspaper reporter and editor in Halifax, Ottawa and Charlottetown. You can reach him at shane.ross@cbc.ca.

With files from Mainstreet P.E.I.