Ontario schools will start giving out free menstrual hygiene products for students who need them after a recent Ontario government partnership with Shoppers Drug Mart.
“Our government is committed to reducing stigma and removing barriers that prevent women and girls from achieving their full potential,” said Jane McKenna, associate minister of Children and Women’s Issues.
The Ontario government’s new partnership with Shoppers’ to get students through their time of the month also remove the stigma about conversations surrounding menstrual hygiene.
“Ensuring that menstrual products are free and readily available to students who need them will help create more equitable environments in our schools,” McKenna said.
Shoppers Drug Mart announced last week that about six million products will be sent to schools across the province this fall. The company will provide free menstrual products over the next three years and also plans to install product dispensers in school washrooms.
Many post-secondary schools already have programs to give students free period products.
Emmaline Scharbach, IGNITE communications manager, said Humber College’s student union offers free tampons and pads for students on campus.
Ignites free period kits include multiple products for those who menstruate. Photo credit: Jess Munday
“IGNITE has been offering free products for years,” Scharbach told Et Cetera. “Students can find free menstrual kits in most bathrooms at North and Lake, or you can grab them from any IGNITE office.”
IGNITE teamed up with the brand Aisle to bring students a free virtual event on Oct. 21 to inform students how to make their time of the month more sustainable.
A 2019 survey by Plan International Canada said almost two-thirds of females aged 14 to 55 in Canada have missed out on an activity because of their period and concerns about not being able to access menstrual hygiene products. Almost six in 10 have “felt the need to lie about being on their period or hide a menstrual product,” it said.
Those who have a period spend about six years of their life on their menstrual cycle and spend around $6,000 on menstrual cycle products throughout their lifetime, a study shows.
And the Plan International survey found that 34 per cent of Canadian women and girls had to regularly or occasionally sacrifice something else within their budget to afford menstrual products.
Kiiwetinoog NDP MPP Sol Mamakwa told the Ontario legislature during Question Period Oct. 20 the Shoppers’ deal doesn’t offer Indigenous students the same help.
“For those of us that live in the north, we often pay double for the same products found down here,” he said. “This gap is even wider when you go into fly-in First Nations.
“Get this, Mr. Speaker, a regular box of tampons can range from $16 to $45, leaving people to choose between menstrual products or food security,” he said. “Young people attending First Nations schools have high needs for these products, but they are being excluded.”