The provincial government announced a partnership with retailer Shoppers Drug Mart to address "period poverty" and provide free menstrual products in Ontario schools.
"Menstrual products are, of course, a necessity, not a luxury," said Education Minister Stephen Lecce on Friday morning. "For women and girls ensuring that they have access to these products is key for their health and successful participation within school."
The reality, he said, is that some can't afford or access these products, creating barriers.
Lecce credited Keith Baybayon, president of the Ontario Student Trustees’ Association (OSTA-AECO), and his team for their advocacy on addressing this issue, recounting their conversation about a young girl who missed school for several days because she couldn't afford to buy menstrual products.
"The anxiety, the shame, the stigmatization that came with that, it was very real," said Lecce. "This has an impact on their education and their time within our schools, it means they miss school more often than their peers, that they find it challenging to fully participate in the classroom and could even experience negative health effects," said Lecce.
"No student should have to worry about whether or not they have access to products. They already have so much on their plates, and the lack of access should not be burden on them," said Baybayon.
Jane McKenna, associate minister of children and women’s issues, referred to a Plan International Canada survey from 2019 indicating that periods and concerns about not being able to access menstrual products had led to 63 per cent of women and girls missing an activity, either sometimes or regularly.
Jeff Leger, president of Shoppers Drug Mart, said this is an "invisible issue" for many, with 78 per cent of Canadians saying they were unaware of the term "period poverty," and therefore didn't know how to help.
The partnership with Shoppers Drug Mart will see the company donate 18 million sanitary pads and 1,200 dispensers distributed across all school boards over the next three years. The initial will start this fall.
Lecce said boards would decide how to distribute the products to schools based on need and that while the products will primarily go to high schools, they will also be available to elementary and middle school students.
He said the program is aimed at students who need it.
"Not every child will require menstrual products similar to not every child will require a mask within our school from the government, they may bring their own," he said.
While the program is starting with sanitary pads, Lecce said the government would consult with students to see if the other menstrual products need to be added.
But NDP education critic Marit Stiles said this needs to happen now.
"Today is an important step, but the government's plan doesn't go far enough. It fails to guarantee that all schools will get an adequate or dedicated supply of period products, and won't give students sufficient choice, offering only pads, but no tampons or cups," she said. "Choice is a critical factor in menstrual health an equity."
There have been calls for several years from various groups and opposition parties to address the issue of "period poverty."
Stiles called Friday's announcement a "victory for the students, organizations and school boards who have fought for years for governments to address the issue of period poverty and ensure no student ever faces embarrassment or misses school because of lack of access to menstrual products."
She credited students who have tried to address the issue on their own including high school student Maya Larrondo, who set up a "period locker" at her school.
Stiles said the province should have taken this step "years ago," noting that she had tabled a motion in 2019 calling on the government to fund menstrual products in schools.

Provincial partnership with Shoppers Drug Mart to provide Ontario students with free menstrual products

Read this for free.