Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with my colleague, the member for Rivière-des-Mille-Îles.
Never before has the old feminist adage been more appropriate. In the case of today's opposition day motion, the political is very, very personal. Almost all women, and even a few men, are united in menstruation for most of their lives. The tampon tax has brought Canadians together, because in a country where the gender pay gap is twice the global average, our bodies deserve a tax break.
More than 85,000 Canadians have signed a petition calling on the federal government to stop charging HST and GST on menstruation products. I am very proud to be joining with them today in supporting my colleague from London—Fanshawe in calling on the government to classify menstrual products as an essential item, because guess what? They are. I am pretty sure that if men menstruated, they would never have been taxing tampons in the first place.
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. This campaign went viral online and a few short months later, we are debating it here in the House of Commons.
This issue is clear and it is a matter of discrimination. Only those who menstruate are being taxed. Cisgender men get off tax free. The government is making $36 million every year exclusively off of women and trans men. To remove this tax would be to correct a clear case of gender-based discrimination.
Can the government really argue that tampons and pads are not essential products?
It is not just a matter of principle. For women living in poverty, in the most practical terms it is about economic security. Among adults 18 and older, women account for 54% of people living in poverty in Canada. More than one million adult women are living in poverty. Twenty-one per cent of single mothers in Canada raise their children while living in poverty, as opposed to 7% of single fathers.
Meanwhile, menstrual products are extremely expensive. For women who are living in poverty and women in shelters, we heard how onerous it is to buy these things. In fact, these women are so financially vulnerable that an extra $20 every month can be a real burden.
Corporate manufacturers know that they can charge a lot for tampons and pads because women have no choice in buying them. This underscores my point. We are talking about an essential product.
As Jen Zoratti wrote in the Winnipeg Free Press:
As for me, though, “that time of the month” is a minor inconvenience. For those who are living in poverty or are experiencing homelessness, it can be incredibly challenging. Many are forced to stretch their stocks of menstrual product, get creative or go without.
On the positive side, I feel incredibly happy to be here with my colleagues pushing for this change. 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.
I also want to note that the puns have been pretty great: “No tax on periods, period”, or on this issue there is “no womb for debate”.
The reality is we need more de-stigmatizing 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. I have to say that I am very proud to be NDP, because it is our party that chose to facilitate this dialogue between young women and their government.
Finally, we need to recognize that the gender gap in Canada is real and the government time and time again does nothing to address it. Economic issues are women's issues. Tax issues are women's issues. Gender-based discrimination can be perpetrated by the federal government as surely as it can be perpetrated by an individual on the street or in the workplace.
In closing, I want to thank the fierce women who started this campaign and the tens of thousands of women who have joined it. I want to give a shout-out to the men and my male colleagues who support this cause. My message today is let us pass this motion. Let us take immediate action rather than putting it off, because the argument is clear; the argument is accurate, and let us be honest, there is just no womb for debate.