TO EVERY CANADIAN

When we go to a public restroom we automatically assume their is toilet paper so why aren't tampons and menstrual products available when they are as important ?

PERIOD POVERTY is real and today around one- third of Canadian women under the age of 25 struggle during their periods to buy sanitary products. This is a serious issue but due to the prevailing period stigma there is little attention given to this . 

Menstruation typically begins between the ages of 11 and 14, and ends at menopause, around the age of 50, and in this whole cycle it is estimated a women will spend $6,000 in a lifetime for menstrual products. For a Female who has everyday expenses for food and shelter finds the cost of buying tampons and sanitary pads unaffordable. Where in Vancouver a box of tampons cost $3 to $11 it is $15 to $18 in Nunavut. This difference makes women living in remote areas of Canada struggle more to fulfill their period needs. While to many spending $30 -$40 on periods products will be normal but for others it is insurmountable sum of money. A women who is making the bare minimum wage  is put in a place where she needs to think before buying period products as for the same money she can buy food .

1in 7 Canadian girls have missed school, work, and social events due to lack of products because they cannot afford the menstrual products. When we talk about women who attend school international students should be included too. Internationals women students who attend Post secondary institutions in Canada pay 3x times more fees than domestic students and on top of that they need to spend money on menstrual products which is an additional expense for them.

 When toilet paper, soap and water are not optional why are hygiene products always debated?. We urge the government and health minister of Canada to make menstrual products available free in all government owned buildings, Schools and post secondary institutions or the cost of buying any menstrual products be covered in health insurance so women can live a life where they don't need to think twice before buying sanitary products for their hygiene.

From:

The NorQuest College Students