Ontario should follow the lead of school boards in Thames Valley, Toronto and Waterloo and offer menstrual products free in all schools in the province.
Davenport MPP Marit Stiles, the NDP's education critic, first introduced her motion this past spring. She raised the issue again today a press conference in Toronto.
“No student in Ontario should have to miss school or suffer embarrassment or shame due to lack of access to menstrual products,” said Stiles. “But this happens all too often right here in our province because of period poverty.”
Marit cited a survey by Plan International Canada (https://plancanada.ca/) that found one in three Canadian women under age 25 struggled to cover the monthly cost of menstrual products.
“We can remove this barrier for Ontario students by providing free menstrual products in school washrooms,” said Stiles, adding B.C. and Nova Scotia already provide the products free in schools.
