Today in the legislature I rose during question period to ask both the Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, as well as the Minister of Education, how the upcoming poverty reduction strategy will ensure that all children and youth have equal access to menstrual products.

Coincidentally, today was also the launch of United Way’s Period Promise, a campaign designed to raise donations for, and awareness of, the financial challenge facing women struggling to make ends meet.

As you will see from the exchange (reproduced in video and text below), I was very encouraged by the responses from both Ministers.

Video of Exchange

Question

A. Weaver: The 2018 child poverty report card found that one in five children in British Columbia are currently growing up in poverty. That’s over 172,000 children, many of whom are in deep poverty, up to $13,000 below the poverty line.

We also know that these children are very likely to be Indigenous, immigrants or racialized minorities. These children often go to school hungry. Their families are worried about basic necessities, such as shelter and groceries.

Now, consider the approximately 86,000 impoverished children and youth who require menstrual products on a monthly basis. Consider the fact that most families under the poverty line are single mothers and their children. For many individuals, managing menstruation can require additional products of birth control.

Through you Honourable Speaker to the Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, how will the upcoming poverty reduction strategy ensure that all children and youth have equal access to menstrual products?

Answer

Hon. S. Simpson: Thank you to the member for the question.

The cost and availability of menstrual products is a real issue, especially for poor women who often face the choice of purchasing those products or buying other essentials, including food. This should not be the case.

We all expect when we enter a public washroom that toilet paper is readily available and free. Why that isn’t the case for menstrual products is a very good question. One, I suspect, that if men had a menstrual cycle, we wouldn’t be asking today.

The member’s question is particularly timely today. The Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equity has kicked off the Period Promise campaign here at the Legislature. People can support that campaign through donations of products or cash at the Finance Minister’s office until March 28, and those will go to a very good purpose.

But more directly to the member’s inquiry, this is a societal question. It requires societal change, and as it impacts women — particularly, poor women — it’s an affordability question. Affordability is a cornerstone of the poverty reduction work in front of our government, and we’re taking that work on.

Supplementary Question

A. Weaver: Thank you to the minister for the very thoughtful answer to the question. My supplemental is this.

Last week the New Westminster school board announced that they will be providing free menstrual products in all of their elementary, middle and high schools beginning this September. This will not only reduce costs faced by financially struggling families; it will improve access to education for girls and non-binary folk who menstruate.

We know that students, if they can’t manage their periods, will remove themselves from extracurricular activities and even miss school. Providing menstrual products gives all children equal access to education. But this program places a financial cost on school districts that are already strapped for funds and facing teacher shortages.

My question is to the Minister of Education. All children deserve equal access to education. What is his ministry doing to provide menstrual products for students in British Columbia?

Answer

Hon. R. Fleming: I would thank the member for the question. It’s obviously a very important issue for students across British Columbia. When students can’t access menstrual products, it can often impede their ability to participate in sports or extracurricular activities, or maybe they even have to miss learning time by having to miss classes.

We see this initiative that New Westminster has undertaken as an important part of promoting an overall student success agenda that the government has in working with our school district partners. I want to take this opportunity to commend the New West district for showing the lead here. It’s a great initiative; there’s no question about that.

It has also garnered some interest from school districts. I expect to be meeting with our education partners about this particular issue — the school trustee association, among them. I would say in the meantime that we do have some existing funding streams that can be assessed to do what New Westminster has done in other parts of the province. The CommunityLINK fund is one of those that may be an area where they can pay for menstrual products.

I want to say, too, on a personal note that I thank the United Way and, in my community, the Victoria Labour Council for the Period Promise campaign. I was pleased to go out personally and make some donations last week when they were doing a fundraising. Those activities are ongoing during this campaign. It’s very promising, and it has led to a very productive discussion in the school district.

I think this is an issue that fits with our government’s overall affordability agenda, and we’re happy to engage in that discussion with school districts.