A City Near Toronto Will Have Free Period Products At Public Spots & Here's Where
Say goodbye to those tampon expenses.
You may not need to buy as many tampons as usual at your drugstore in Mississauga, as the City just announced that they'll be giving out period products for free in a bunch of public spaces.
In a press release on April 20, the City's council announced the approval of a motion to give out free menstrual products in areas operated by the city.
So, where can you find them?
According to a corporate report from the Commissioner of Community Services, Jodi Robillos, here are all of the City-run places you could access these free period products in at least one of its washrooms:
- Paramount Fine Foods Centre
- The Courthouse at 950 Burnhamthorpe Road West
- MiWay Transit Terminals locations as directed by MiWay staff
- All standalone libraries and recreational facilities like arenas, golf courses, and community centres
- Washrooms in parks that operate year-round as noted by parks operation workers
- Various cultural facilities, which include the Benares Historic House, Small Arms Inspection Building, Meadowvale Theatre, and Bradley Museum
- Civic precinct facilities, which include the Living Arts Centre, the Mississauga Celebration Square, the Civic Centre, Central Library
"Nobody should experience period poverty. And as a City, we feel it’s important to ensure that community members have equal access to the services and basic essentials they need when visiting our facilities," Mississauga Mayor, Bonnie Crombie, said in a statement.
"We’ve researched this, and according to studies, approximately one-third of Canadian women under the age of 25 struggle to afford menstrual products. In Mississauga and Peel Region, there is a noticeable gap to accessing these supplies and we are committed to changing this."
According to the report, the city plans to have free period products at about 100 spots by this coming fall. The initiative will cost the city around $165,000 to implement for the rest of the year, and $100,000 to operate annually after that.Among those who also get free period products are students in Ontario after the province had announced a partnership with Shoppers Drug Mart in October of 2021 to make that happen.