Dear Canadian menstruators and allies, It has been a true pleasure and an honour being the Canadian Menstruator. Try as I might that nickname has yet to catch on. Of the many, many tasks I had during this campaign, one of the not so luxurious tasks was being the administrator on our Youtube video. We had over 24,000 views and only 20 harassing comments — unlike the countless negative feedback our campaign got on news stories, the Youtube comments were monitored and were not approved. This week I got my favourite. Deridre comments, “These feminists are so god damn annoying.” Damn straight we are, Deridre. And we will continue to be. While I was live-tweeting our campaign being brought forward as an opposition day motion, I was keeping track of all the wonderful things that we, as damn annoying feminists, accomplished that day — these comments are public records in our government’s Hansard and will be remembered unlike the negative feedback on a news story. Niki Ashton stood up in favour of the NDP motion calling the tax on menstruation products discriminatory. She called for its removal, saying: “Our debate here today is a true reflection of the fierce feminist activists who are pushing this issue and so many issues that matter to young women here and now… The remarkable thing about this motion is it is living proof of the political strength and savvy of grassroots feminist activism. This campaign began on the ground, or I should say online. I am consistently impressed and inspired by how young activists have actualized themselves and how they are changing the conversations we are having in our country through social media." So, today we celebrate the work that we fierce feminists have done. Even though there were negative comments online, I found it motivating to read through the comments on news stories about our campaign and see thousands of supporters fight for this cause against all the naysayers. I knew that for every negative statement there would be at least three menstruators (or allies) fighting back. Today, when the internet is not a safe place for women, we flooded social media with our periods, and more importantly we stood up against discrimination and our government listened — I’m still shocked. Menstruation is still a shameful subject. Menstruation products are still not very affordable or accessible, so I want to thank you all for supporting our campaign and want to ask you to continue to raise awareness about this issue. I also want to thank all those who helped with the #NoTaxOnTampons campaign. It was a small but mighty group who stepped up when they could and more importantly answered every URGENT email I sent. To all the women and my friends in Montreal who listened to me rant at every gathering, encouraged me to start this campaign, and helped along the way. To the women in Toronto, new and old friends, who jumped in with full force. To the women across this country who sent the most lovely notes of support — Thank you! To the over 74,000 activists who supported us and to the 10,082 people who signed the petition — THANK YOU! To Lunapads, Unifor, the Sweet Potato, and Tavia Lagenkamp for making our video dream come true and to Campaign Gears for building our website, producing our video and hooking us up with the amazing Wildrun Productions. To the Crimson Wave for writing the video and being the ultimate #NoTaxOnTampons champs. Early one morning last summer, Irene Mathyssen phoned me after I sent her an email asking for all the research done for her private member’s bill — she encouraged me to start this campaign over and over even though I said I wasn’t sure if I was going to. I want to thank her for that phone call and for continuing to champion our campaign. To her parliamentary assistant Tara who literally told me all the ins and outs of our parliamentary system. And to Mylene Freeman and all the NDP parliamentarians for championing this cause. Finally, I want to thank Kathleen Fraser, who graciously replied to over 130 email threads and countless crying text messages and phone calls. Who stood with me in Ottawa at a real live press conference and who edited this email. We were a true team and really ran this campaign together the whole way. Just wait and see what we will get up to next. It’s been quite the trip — and I want to encourage all of you to continue to fight to end discrimination in Canada. The tax on menstruation products was symbolic of the countless ways gender discrimination has been legislated by our government. Removing this tax is just one small step forward. I’ll end with one last quote from our Hansard again from Niki Ashton: “The fact that women across the country have taken matters into their own hands to bring menstruation into the mainstream makes me proud to be a feminist... The reality is we need more destigmatizing debates like this one. When women can take up space in this House, their House, our House, to talk about our bodies, our rights, and our reproductive health, we see the power of feminism in Parliament.” Let’s make room at the table for women, trans people, and the many Canadians who are treated as inessential—to include us in political conversations, in legislation, and in our national identity because we are essential. Please consider donating a menstruation products to a local shelter or food bank in honour of this campaign: https://www.facebook.com/events/1074526302575415/ Sincerely, Jill Piebiak @CDNMenstruators https://www.facebook.com/CDNMenstruators