The Ontario government wants to break the stigma around period poverty by making sure schools across Ontario offer free menstrual products to their students.
Minister of Education, Todd Smith, announced a new three-year agreement on Monday with Shoppers Drug Mart to expand the province’s Menstrual Equity Initiative, providing more than 23 million free menstrual products to students over the next 3 years.
A 2023 Plan International Canada survey found that 34 per cent of Canadians under 25 who menstruate struggle to afford menstrual products.
Shoppers Drug Mart will provide 1,380 pad and tampon dispensers in the first year.
President of Shoppers Drug Mart, Jeff Leger, says they are proud of this important partnership with the Ontario government.
“For too long, inequitable access to menstrual products has held millions back from reaching their full potential,” says Leger in a release. “Every absent day of school or sick day at work is a missed opportunity to learn, grow and thrive.”
Free menstrual products will also be available to all school boards and school authorities across Ontario.
