Evidence of meeting #73 for Status of Women in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was products.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Anna Roberts Conservative King—Vaughan, ON
One of our local MPPs started a campaign a few years ago called the shoebox campaign. Everybody—mainly women, but anyone—could contribute through a Shoppers Drug Mart, where there were selected items to be placed in a shoebox, bag or whatever you choose and provided to women's shelters. They found they lacked a lot of those essential items that women need.
Has anything like that...? Has Shoppers approached you on any of those types of ideas—that it could provide or donate?
Advocacy Coordinator, Days for Girls Canada Society
We haven't been approached by any companies for donating.
The concept we're working on right now is that employers would take on the responsibility of purchasing the products for their employees and anyone else who is a client or visiting their place of business.
If companies want to get on board, that would be wonderful. At this point in time, we feel that, in order for menstrual equity to really happen, public sector participation is vital. There's money in the public sector that can be spent fairly and justly for the people employers employ.
Conservative
Anna Roberts Conservative King—Vaughan, ON
Thank you very much for the answer.
My next question will go to Ms. Hirtz.
You spoke about the Bfree Cup. What is it made of, exactly?
Chief Executive Officer, Women's Global Health Innovations
The Bfree Cup is made from 100% medical-grade silicone.
Conservative
Anna Roberts Conservative King—Vaughan, ON
Is that something that would be cleaned regularly throughout the day, or is it once a day? I'm not aware of that. I'm sorry if I—
Chief Executive Officer, Women's Global Health Innovations
No, that's okay.
The menstrual cup is a kind of bell-shaped product worn internally. It collects as opposed to absorbing. When it's removed, you can empty it out. You can just wipe it with tissue or rinse it with water, and then reinsert it. It can be left in place for upwards of 12 hours, so it's very convenient for workers or students.
Conservative
Anna Roberts Conservative King—Vaughan, ON
I have 15 seconds. Oh, my goodness.
I'm thinking about young girls using that in school. Say they have to clean it while they're in school. With the new gender bathrooms, it would be very uncomfortable for them to do that.
Has anybody given any thought about whether we should continue to have separate washrooms for females? I'm thinking of a young girl going in, and then a male comes in. It would be very uncomfortable for them.
Do you agree with that?
Chief Executive Officer, Women's Global Health Innovations
In regard to menstrual health and normalizing the discussion around menstruation, it's time. The stigmas and taboos.... Yes, I understand the discomfort, but it's—
Conservative
Chief Executive Officer, Women's Global Health Innovations
We educate them as well.
Liberal
Anita Vandenbeld Liberal Ottawa West—Nepean, ON
Thank you.
I do want to thank all the witnesses. Not only are you educating us, but also, for the public watching, you are dealing with the taboos and the stigma. I think just having you here as witnesses is doing a tremendous amount for that.
I would say, as a committee full of feminists, and many of us are or have been menstruators, there's a lot of information here that I think many of us didn't even know. That tells us something, so thank you very much.
The question I wanted to ask you is specifically around this: A couple of you talked about how your engagement on this started through international development work. I'm the parliamentary secretary for international development as well. I find it interesting because I've always seen development as a two-way conversation. It's not just people going and trying to somehow impart knowledge to other countries, but the amount we learn back in terms of sharing all the different practices.
Ms. Siemens, you mentioned Scotland as a country that does very well. Earlier, one of you mentioned Kenya and the policies there. I wonder if you could talk about countries or jurisdictions that have very good policies that Canada and our committee may want to look into further and maybe get some ideas from.
Go ahead.
Chief Executive Officer, Aisle International
I can speak briefly.
The Scotland policy is incredibly comprehensive. I'm even learning myself, having been in this for decades. They have done an extensive amount of research and listening. It's probably the best policy I've seen written to date. I would encourage everyone in this room to read the Scotland policy, if they haven't already.
I'll pass it over to Leisa to talk about other countries.
Chief Executive Officer, Women's Global Health Innovations
I can speak about the work on the ground in schools in Uganda, for example, and how welcoming the schools and the schoolmasters are.
We train the boys on puberty and menstrual health, as well as the girls, using an entertainment type of delivery. It has been very effective. We're making it fun, but also addressing the taboos through education and through the knowledge that's transferred. We're always working in user-centred design and working in a very community-led approach wherever we're doing the work.
Co-Chief Executive Officer, joni
We don't work internationally, but kudos to Nikki and the work that she and the team are doing in B.C. There's a lot of leadership being shown there.
I think we could look at the level of collaboration with industry partners and stakeholders like ourselves and other non-profits, especially as we look at what we can do better. There's a complex solution, but for what we can do better, we can definitely look at B.C.
Liberal
Anita Vandenbeld Liberal Ottawa West—Nepean, ON
Those online, did you want to add anything?
Do I have time for another question, Madam Chair?
Liberal
Anita Vandenbeld Liberal Ottawa West—Nepean, ON
One thing that all of you have mentioned is sustainable, reusable menstrual products. I can say we're looking at this right now in the context of those who might not be able to afford menstrual products and who want to reuse. I'm imagine there is a huge market out there of people who want to be environmentally sustainable, who maybe are privileged and can afford to buy the plastic products, but would rather do something that is going to be better for the environment and for our future.
You talked about procurement. I'm wondering if there are ways to make sure those kinds of products are not seen and then become stigmatized as being for the more vulnerable and marginalized communities, as opposed to something that should be probably marketed to everyone.
I'm opening it to all of you. Whoever wants to answer first, go ahead.
Chief Executive Officer, Aisle International
Most of our customers are privileged and are folks who can afford them. We rely on their testimonials and their advocacy for how reusable products have changed their lives.
A lot of them are doing it for sustainability reasons, but they find a new sense of comfort, agency and ability to manage their period the way they want to. They feel comfortable and don't feel they are creating waste or using products where maybe they're questioning what's in them.
As a collective, we are very transparent about how our products are made, what's included in them and what's not included in them. That makes everyone feel safe from a health perspective and it satisfies their environmental objectives.
Chief Executive Officer, Women's Global Health Innovations
I can speak to a recent project in Malawi, actually, that was conducted by the Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief. There were adolescent girls, but then it was their mothers who wanted access to the cups. It was wonderful to hear the feedback from them, asking, “Where was this 20 years ago?”, because of the level of comfort and the ease. They say this was life-changing.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Karen Vecchio
Thank you so much.
We're now going to move to two and a minutes for Andréanne Larouche.
Andréanne, you have two and a half minutes.
Bloc
Andréanne Larouche Bloc Shefford, QC
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Ladies, thank you for being here.
We're talking about initiatives we've seen elsewhere, but I have the impression that we're also talking about research and innovation in menstrual products to provide more variety. I'd like to hear your views on this, as it might be an issue that falls under federal jurisdiction. How do you think we can encourage research and innovation in sustainable and affordable menstrual products?